Voice of America (VOA) reported on the 27th that North Korea was elected as a new member of the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to VOA, at the 76th meeting of the World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland on the 26th (local time), 10 candidate countries, including North Korea, recommended by the General Committee after arranging regions were elected as new executive board members through a vote.
Along with North Korea, Australia, Barbados, Cameroon, Comoros, Lesotho, Qatar, Switzerland, Togo, and Ukraine were named as new executive members.
The executive board of the WHO consists of 34 countries, and among them, 10 countries have elected successors this year after their terms expired this year, VOA reported. The term of Korea, which was the existing executive board member, also ends this year.
The executive member states can actively participate in the process of establishing and reviewing WHO’s budget, settlement of accounts, major project strategies and operational plans. The term of office is 3 years.
North Korea was previously elected to the executive board in 1989, 2000 and 2013.
The US representative pointed out North Korea’s human rights violations and the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), saying, “We express deep concern that the North Korean government, one of the new board members, does not share values with us.”
“We urge the North Korean government to respect human rights, fulfill its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions, and engage in diplomatic activities earnestly and continuously through this opportunity,” he stressed.
Later, North Korea also gained the right to speak and responded to the criticism by the United States, saying, “We express deep regret that a country is abusing the forum and seeking confrontation for its own vile political ends by raising an issue unrelated to the agenda of this meeting.” said.
Source: Donga
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