S.Korea, US, Japan plan meeting on N.Korean human rights in Washington, D.C., in Oct

Seoul, Aug 23 (IANS) South Korea, the US, and Japan are planning to hold a meeting in Washington, D.C., in October to discuss North Korean human rights issues, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said.
The meeting, to be hosted by the US State Department in early October, will involve government officials and civilian experts, the Ministry said on Friday.”The meeting will serve as a forum to address various issues related to North Korea, including human rights,” said Kim In-ae, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Ministry, during a press briefing.The event is reportedly a follow-up to the historic trilateral summit held at Camp David in Maryland last August, which brought together South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yonhap news agency reported.Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho is likely to attend the event, according to sources.US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell reportedly invited Kim to attend the event during their meeting in the US in July, where they pledged to work together to promote accountability for North Korea’s human rights abuses.The Unification Ministry also plans to provide detailed explanations of the new unification doctrines proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month.During a Liberation Day speech marking the 79th anniversary of independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, Yoon suggested that South and North Korea establish a working-level dialogue channel. He also vowed to raise further awareness of North Korea’s dismal human rights situation around the world.–IANSint/khz