On the 18th, US Secretary of State Tony Blingen holds a joint press conference after the ROK-US Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers’ Meeting (2+2 meetings) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo Joint Coverage Group
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln emphasized on the 18th that “sexual exploitation of women is a serious human rights violation” in relation to the comfort women issue of the Japanese military. To the North Korean leadership, “Unfortunately, North Korean human rights are one of the most serious human rights situations we know in the world.”
In an interview with KBS that day, Minister Blincoln said about the thesis by Mark Ramsey, a professor at Harvard University Law School, who distorted comfort women into’voluntary prostitution’. “We have been talking for a long time that sexual exploitation of women is a serious human rights violation.”
Minister Blincoln was involved in concluding a comfort women agreement between the Korean and Japanese governments in 2015 as Deputy Secretary of State for the Barack Obama administration. Regarding the relationship between Korea and Japan, which has been exacerbated by past problems such as comfort women, he said, “We are strongly encouraging our partner countries, Korea and Japan, to solve these problems with the spirit of reconciliation.” It is noteworthy whether the Biden administration, which is ordering the strengthening of trilateral cooperation between the two countries to check China, will go to arbitration to improve Korea-Japan relations in the future.
Minister Blincoln remarked on the censure of the First Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea, Choi Sun-hee, that “unless the US policy of hostilities against North Korea (North Korea) is withdrawn.” From the standpoint of reviewing the policy, the voices I would like to hear are from close partners (allies).
Regarding the succession of the North American Singapore Agreement, “(Biden administration’s) North Korea policy is being reviewed, and we are listening very carefully so that we can fully understand the perspectives of our partners in Korea,” he said in principle. Regarding the appointment of the Special Representative to North Korea, which is currently vacant, he said, “We will be able to see (a new representative) in the next few weeks, and certainly within a relatively short period of time.”
He also mentioned the’human rights issue’ that North Korea reacts extremely sensitively. He said, “From the very first day of his tenure, President Joe Biden made it clear that he was determined to put human rights and democracy back at the center of US foreign policy. Even if the resumption of the US-North Korea dialogue is delayed, it is interpreted to mean that the human rights issue will not be compromised.
For stop reporter [email protected]
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
