UN North Korea Probe Should Initially Focus on Defectors - Advocacy Group

UN investigators looking into possible crimes against humanity in North Korea should begin by interviewing some of the tens of thousands of defectors who can provide a wealth of evidence, Christian activist and Asia-based humanitarian aid worker Tim Peters told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR) established an independent panel of experts to study alleged crimes against humanity committed by North Korea.

"Let's not forget that there are well over 30,000 North Korean defectors who've made their way to free countries now, especially the Republic of [South] Korea," Peters told Sputnik on Thursday. "There's a great deal of evidence there to start with."

Apart from that, Peters added, North Korea has engaged in stupendously egregious misallocation of national resources to military and nuclear programs, and the fact up to 70 percent of its children are malnourished is clear for the entire world to see.

Peters also claimed that, in recent weeks, evidence surfaced of kindergartners in North Korea being shown propaganda footage of ballistic missiles striking Washington, DC and Seoul.

"I do think it will make the case for Kim Jong-un and his ilk's referral to the ICC [International Criminal Court] much stronger," he suggested.

The OHCHR called on the newly-established panel of experts to recommend within the next half-a-year ways of securing justice for victims of alleged crimes against humanity in North Korea, including through the International Criminal Court.