U.N. rapporteur for North Korean human rights arrives in Seoul

Kim Soo-yeon

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The U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights arrived in Seoul on Monday for a nine-day visit to meet with Seoul officials and defectors from the reclusive regime over Pyongyang's dismal human rights situation.

During her stay, Elizabeth Salmon plans to meet with foreign, unification and justice officials, as well as North Korean defectors and rights groups, according to the foreign ministry.

She is also scheduled to hold a press conference in Seoul on Sept. 12.

Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights, holds a news conference on the outcomes of her visit to South Korea at a hotel in Seoul, in this file photo taken Sept. 2, 2022. (Yonhap)

The rapporteur will submit a report on North Korean human rights issues to the U.N. based on the results of this week's visit.

Later in the day, Salmon met with Son Myung-hwa, representative of the Korean War POW Family Association, a civic group dedicated to resolving the issue of South Korean prisoners of war (POWs).

Son delivered a letter to Salmon that calls for the South Korean government to establish a fact-finding commission to investigate the POW issue and publish a comprehensive report on it, according to the group.

The special rapporteur position was first created in 2004 to investigate and report to the U.N. Human Rights Council and General Assembly on the human rights situation in the reclusive regime in light of international human rights law.