Dialogue with North Korea? : preconditions for talking human rights with the Hermit Kingdom / Geir Helgesen and Hatla Thelle.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Helgesen, Geir.

Contributor:

Thelle, Hatla.

Series:

Asia insights ; 4.

Asia insights ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights--Korea (North).

Human rights.

International relations.

Korea (North).

Human rights--International cooperation.

Korea (North)--Foreign relations.

Korea (North)--Politics and government--1994-2011.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xiii, 137 pages : color illustrations, map ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Copenhagen, Denmark : NIAS Press, 2013.

Summary:

A rare, nuanced analysis of the North Korean situation, There is hardly another country as isolated and with such a bleak image as North Korea. It is portrayed in the Western media as a Hermit Kingdom ruled by an outdated, communist dictatorship whose clandestine nuclear programmes alarm its neighbours and which uses dreadful labour camps to control a population wracked by famine. The regime's poor track record on human rights is stressed time and again by both Western governments and international organizations. Prospects look bleak for any improvement in relations let alone the start of a dialogue on human rights. Offering a rare, nuanced analysis of the North Korean situation, this short study argues that not only is a constructive and fruitful dialogue on human rights possible but also it is desirable for both parties. New perspectives are provided on what is generally perceived about North Korea, its relationship to the international human rights regime, the rationales that underpin decision-making in international relations, and the perceptions and expectations of people occupying official positions in the DPRK bureaucracy. The authors also draw from concrete experiences to give some suggestions to how a dialogue could be established and in what specific areas it is realistic. Here they point to valuable lessons to be learned from the dialogue so far between North Korea and the UN Human Rights regime as well as from the experiences of the already established EU-China human rights dialogue. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 North Korea Contextualized 9

2 North Korea's Interaction with the UN Human Rights Regime, 2000-11 39

3 Lessons from the Human Rights Dialogue with China 55

Photo Essay: Everyday Life in North Korea 73

4 Visit to North Korea, October 2010 85

5 Conclusions and Perspectives 105.

ISBN:

8776941264

9788776941260

OCLC:

818463399

Publisher Number:

99954161019