By Yi Whan-woo

The United States is accusing North Korea of human rights violations, despite a reconciliatory mood between the countries after a summit between their leaders in Singapore, June 12.

The U.S. Department of State put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 for 16th consecutive year in its annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" released on June 28.

China, Russia and Iran also joined the same tier of nations that the U.S. brands as the worst human traffickers.

"The government of (North Korea) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," the report said.

It said Pyongyang continued to use forced labor in prison camps and labor training centers, while using forced labor of students and exporting forced labor to foreign companies.

The report especially pointed out that up to 100,000 North Koreans earn money for their government in countries such as Russia, China and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.

"It used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government functions as well as other illicit activity," the report said. "It did not screen for or protect potential trafficking victims when they were forcibly repatriated from China or other countries."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the slave labor of North Koreans abroad took place "with the tacit approval of host governments."

The report was released amid U.S.-North Korea negotiations to implement the joint declaration announced by U.S. President Trump and North Korea leader following their Singapore summit.

The declaration reaffirmed Pyongyang's denuclearization.

Meanwhile, South Korean scholars called for aid to be resumed to North Korea, although international sanctions against Pyongyang are still in place.

During a recent debate organized by the Korea Development Institute Review of the North Korean Economy in Seoul, the scholars argued South Korea should try to bolster the momentum of the reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula, although sanctions should be respected.

"The humanitarian aid in a wide range of areas, including health, medicine, environment and agricultural development, should be resumed," Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) researcher Kim Seok-jin said.
"The fiscal support should be increased for United Nations organizations in charge of assisting the North and the activities of local nongovernmental organizations should be encouraged."

Other scholars suggested the Moon Jae-in administration should remove the sanctions imposed by past conservative governments.

The sanctions include the so-called "May 23 Measures" imposed in May 2010 in retaliation for North Korea's torpedo attack on the South Korean naval frigate Cheonan in March the same year.

The experts even claimed Seoul's sanctions should be lifted even before those of the U.S. ended.

Some specialists proposed that the Moon government should begin consultations with the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. about exceptional aid measures for North Korea.

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