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State Department Press Secretary Ned Price answers a question during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington on Tuesday. (State Press Department) |
WASHINGTON — The United States is very focused on improving human rights conditions in North Korea, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling it a serious challenge.
Ned Price, however, said he had no announcement to make when asked if the United States would appoint a special human rights envoy to North Korea, a post that remained vacant. for almost six years.
“As far as human rights in North Korea are concerned, of course, this is something that concerns us deeply,” he said when asked about the issue during a briefing. daily press.
“The challenge posed by the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs is not the only threat emanating from North Korea…its appalling treatment of its own people is something that concerns us. deeply,” the spokesperson added.
DPRK stands for the official name of the North, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Price said he had ‘no personnel announcements to make today’ when asked about a possible appointment of a special envoy, but insisted the US was still working On the question.
“There are people in this building and in a number of offices, including our office of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, but also our office of democracy, rights and labor , who are very focused on that,” he said.
The department spokesman reaffirmed the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test when asked.
“We have felt for some time now that the North Koreans are capable of conducting a nuclear test, which would be their seventh nuclear test, at any time,” Price said during the briefing.
He stressed there would be consequences for the North if it conducted a nuclear test, but also said the United States remained open to dialogue with Pyongyang.
“We have sought to send a very clear message that comes not just from Washington but from capitals around the world that there will be consequences for a seventh nuclear test,” Price said.
“Just as we have consistently argued that we have no hostile intentions towards the DPRK. In fact, we believe that diplomacy remains the best way to achieve our ultimate goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, ” he added. (Yonhap)
