North Korea says sanctions threaten survival of its children
GENEVA - North Korea told a UN rights panel that international sanctions imposed on it over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs would endanger the survival of North Korean children.
Han Tae Song, Pyongyang's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, was speaking at a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child late on Wednesday.
The panel of independent experts challenged North Korean officials over allegations of forced child labor, sexual abuse and trafficking in North Korea, Pyongyang's health and education budget, and Internet access for children.
Han said North Korea, whose population is 26 million, is a "people-centered socialist country... where protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of the child are given top priority ... There is room for improvement."
But Han said that new sanctions imposed by the United States and the UN Security Council over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests were hampering the production of nutritional goods for children and provision of textbooks.
