The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in North Korea warned on Wednesday that governments negotiating with the DPRK on denuclearization should not avoid the issue of human rights.

Tomás Ojea Quintana issued a statement saying that improving the human rights situation in the DPRK would help the long-term sustainability of any agreements focusing on denuclearization.

“A denuclearisation deal will remain fragile if it sidelines the rights and needs of the DPRK population,” Quintana said.

“Peace and security cannot be achieved only in the form of intergovernmental agreements but also, and perhaps more importantly, in the shape of domestic policies