Collecting evidence of North Korea’s human rights violations – Ep. 325

North Korea News Podcast

North Korean propaganda websites targeting South Korea suddenly started to disappear from the internet last week, after leader Kim Jong Un declared in late December that Korean unification is now “impossible.” Some radio broadcasts into the ROK have also stopped, while the DPRK announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down several organizations dealing with inter-Korean matters. NK News Correspondent Shreyas Reddy (@shreyas_k_reddy) sits down in the studio to discuss what outlets have disappeared, North Korea’s social media strategy and how this apparent blackout could evolve. Then, James Heenan, the head of the U.N. Human Rights office in Seoul (@UNrightsSeoul), talks about his role in monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in North Korea, as well as his office’s role in collecting evidence that could one day be used for prosecutions of crimes against humanity in the DPRK. He also reviews a U.N. report published last year titled “These Wounds Do Not Heal,” which details enforced disappearance and abductions by the DPRK. He discusses enforced disappearances of both North Koreans and of foreigners, as well as the history behind the DPRK’s abductions of Japanese nationals. James Heenan previously served as the head of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine from 2015. He has also worked in academia on labor rights issues and as a practicing lawyer in the U.K. and Australia. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.