North Korea (Hansard, 9 February 2004)

§ Mr. Swire
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to North Korea about human rights. [153071]

§ Mr. Rammell
We are very concerned about reports of serious human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and raise the issue regularly with the DPRK authorities. We encourage DPRK to comply with the recommendations set out in the Resolution adopted at last year's UN Commission on Human Rights. Most recently, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised human rights with DPRK diplomats on 2 February.

§ Mr. Swire
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit North Korea. [153072]

§ Mr. Rammell
Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel and occasionally not until they are under way.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of North Korea about their(a) ownership and (b) testing of (i) chemical and (ii) biological weapons. [153994]

§ Mr. Rammell
As a State Party to the Biological Weapons Convention, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is obliged to comply with the ban on developing, testing and stockpiling biological and toxin weapons. DPRK is not a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, but the EU has recently urged all non-signatories, including DPRK, to accede immediately. We have also recently raised reports of chemical testing on DPRK prisoners with DPRK Embassy officials. We are committed to combating the proliferation of WMD wherever it may occur, and will continue to urge the DPRK to comply with its international obligations.