Political polarization in South Korea has made it difficult to push forward efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, Seoul’s top envoy for DPRK human rights said Wednesday.

“The term ‘North Korean human rights' is highly politicized and regretfully has become a subject of controversy,” Lee Shin-wha said at the International Dialogue for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul. “Within South Korea, it is a difficult topic to make a consensus because there is a big divide between the conservative and liberal political parties.”