Media advisories Special Procedures

UN expert on human rights in DPRK to visit the Republic of Korea

28 January 2026

Non-official UN languages: Korean version (PDF)

Geneva/SEOUL – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Elizabeth Salmón, will conduct an official visit to the Republic of Korea from 2 to 6 February.

During her visit, Salmón will meet Government officials, civil society organisations, victims and their families, as well as escapees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, among others.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on 6 February from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (local time) at Seoul Global Center, 9F, 38 Jongro, Jongro-gu, Seoul. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists.

The expert will present her annual report to the Human Rights Council in March 2026 and to the General Assembly in October 2026.

Elizabeth Salmón is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

UN Human Rights, country page – Republic of Korea

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Madoka SAJI, Human Rights Officer, madoka.saji@un.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.

Tags