Korean-American Julie Turner, the U.S. State Department special envoy for North Korean human rights, who took office on the 13th (local time), will visit Korea on the 16th for her first overseas schedule. The special envoy for North Korean human rights, an ambassador-level position involved in the overall formulation and execution of the U.S. government’s human rights policy toward North Korea, has begun full-scale activities after ending a vacancy of six years and nine months.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Special Envoy Turner is scheduled to visit Korea on the 16th and meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin and Jeon Young-hee, head of the Peace and Diplomacy Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss ways to cooperate between the two countries regarding human rights in North Korea. On the same day, Special Envoy Turner, along with Ambassador for International Cooperation for North Korean Human Rights Lee Shin-hwa, will attend a meeting at Korea University with North Korean defectors and young people working to promote human rights in North Korea at home and abroad. It is reported that during his visit to Korea, Special Envoy Turner will also meet with a group of abductees from North Korea. The U.S. State Department also announced the news of Special Envoy Turner’s oath of office on the 13th and announced that he will visit Seoul for the first time as a special envoy to discuss ways to promote human rights in North Korea and promote reunion of separated families.
With the inauguration of Special Envoy Turner, the vacuum in the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights that had existed since the retirement of former special envoy Robert King in January 2017 was resolved. Previously, the Donald Trump administration did not appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights in consideration of North Korea-US dialogue. President Joe Biden nominated Turner, then director of East Asia and Pacific Affairs at the State Department, to this position in January of this year. The Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights was newly established in accordance with the North Korean Human Rights Act enacted in 2004.
Special Envoy Turner, who worked at the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor for 16 years and mainly dealt with human rights issues in North Korea, including North Korean defectors, introduced himself as a “Korean-American adoptee” at a Senate hearing in May and said, “It was my childhood to serve the country that welcomed me.” “It was a dream,” he said. He also said, “We will work with like-minded governments to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and violations in North Korea.” He is known to be fluent in French and Korean.
As the United States appointed Special Envoy Turner in the third year of the Biden administration and showed its will to actively work on human rights issues as well as North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles, there are speculations that cooperation between South Korea and the United States on North Korean human rights issues will also accelerate with Special Envoy Turner’s visit to Korea. Previously, President Yoon Seok-yeol appointed Korea University professor Lee Shin-hwa as Ambassador for International Cooperation for North Korean Human Rights, a position that had been vacant for five years last year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.