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Rights group urges U.N. to spotlight North Korea executions in reporting

• The Transitional Justice Working Group, a Seoul-based human rights organization, asked U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to place greater emphasis on executions when reporting on North Korea's human rights situation at the U.N. General Assembly.
• North Korean escapee Eunju Kim testified at the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris that she first witnessed a public execution at age 9, describing psychological consequences for citizens forced to observe.
• Ethan Hee-Seok Shin of the group said North Korea's executions frequently appear extrajudicial and arbitrary, with defendants denied fair trials, and that the actions "clearly constitute crimes against humanity."
• Elizabeth Salmón, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said her October report to the General Assembly would focus on the severity of executions and violations of the right to life.