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with North Korea and in North Korea policy has been
counterproductive, to say the least. Moving forward, effective
North Korea policy will have to rely on a firm grasp on the
human rights-security nexus, in particular the Kim regime’s
exploitation of its subjects at home and abroad to fund its
Weapons of Mass Production (WMD) programs.

The original scope of the human rights up front approach
was defined within the UN context, involving collaboration
among the human rights, humanitarian, and political arms
of the UN. To forge effective North Korea policy, in addition
to emphasizing the human rights-security nexus, both the
human rights and the security approach will have to factor in
humanitarian concerns. These should be based on the need for
transparency, access, and adequate monitoring and evaluation
of aid that reaches the most vulnerable categories within
North Korea’s population, in particular women, children, the
elderly, and people in detention.

Conclusion

Rather than simply lamenting ad nauseam the lack of
transparency and access that has plagued humanitarian
operations inside North Korea, both the human rights and
security communities will have to find ways to relate to
humanitarian groups and concerns. The scope of the human
rights-human security-political/military nexus could be
expanded to include humanitarian concerns, by scrutinizing
the human rights and humanitarian crisis in North Korea
through the lens of the 17 SDGs. After all, apart from about

Chapter Nine : Addressing the North Korean Conundrum 161