1. At the Foreign Ministry on October 12, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se presented new Ambassador-at-large on North Korean Human Rights Lee Jung-hoon with a letter of appointment signed by President Park Geun-hye.

2. In the conversation that followed, Minister Yun asked the new Ambassador-at-large to do his best to make substantive improvements in the human rights situation of the North Korean people in cooperation with the international community, underscoring the need to make North Korea’s human rights issue a topic of international discussions.

3. The presentation ceremony also brought together Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Robert King of the US State of Department; former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Marzuki Darusman; and Signe Poulsen, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul, during which they discussed ways to work together on North Korea’s human rights issue.

4. Ambassador-at-large Lee will use experiences he acquired during his three-year service as Ambassador for Human Rights, expert knowledge on North Korean human rights, and human network to support the diplomatic efforts of the Republic of Korea government to promote human rights in North Korea, while carrying out various activities to raise international awareness on the issue.


* unofficial translation