Biden nominates Julie as spl envoy for N Korea's human rights issues

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has nominated Julie Turner as special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, the White House announced in a statement on Monday.

If appointed, Turner will be the first to serve the post since 2017, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Julie Turner, the Director of the Office of East Asia and the Pacific in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the Department of State has been nominated as a special envoy for human rights in North Korea, the White House said in a statement.

Turner speaks Korean and has worked for over 16 years in the Office of East Asia and the Pacific, focused on issues primarily related to promoting human rights in North Korea, including a tour as a special assistant in the office of the Special Envoy on North Korean human rights issues, the statement said.

"Turner has served more than 16 years in the Office of East Asia and the Pacific, in positions of increasing responsibility, primarily focused on initiatives related to promoting human rights in North Korea, including a tour as Special Assistant in the Office of the Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues," it said.

Earlier in 2022, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution condemning North Korea for human rights violations. A draft resolution on the human rights situation in North Korea was approved by consensus.

The committee passed the resolution calling for efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea for the 18th consecutive year, as per the Yonhap news report. The resolution, led by European Union nations, expressed concern over the illegal detention, torture and execution of foreign nationals in North Korea.

However, the North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song rejected the resolution, terming it a political scheme to tarnish the image of Pyongyang.