WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - North Korea is building factories and hospitals, rolling out smartphones and mobile banking, and passing new laws at an unprecedented rate. But its people are more cut off from the outside world than at any point in the country's history, according to a top UN human rights official in the South Korean capital.
A team headed by James Heenan, head of the UN human rights office, monitors North Korea from beyond its borders because, as he puts it, 'almost no one' can get in.
UN News quoted Heenan describing it a country where hunger remains a constant phenomenon, forced labour touches every family, and the border with China is so tightly sealed that even illegal crossings have all but stopped.
Yet, he warned against seeing North Korea as frozen in time. 'The country is constantly changing, like every country in the world,' according to Heenan.
In an interview to UN News, Heenan said it is a tricky situation for his office to monitor human rights in the country behind iron-curtain without direct access.
The international humanitarian community, including the UN, has not had access for five or six years now, so when there's a disaster, they don't have access to that sort of support.
'For average people, I think another impact is that there's no access to certain types of medicines or treatment. There's no access to certain types of food and so forth,' Heenan said.
There are very few people coming in or out of the country. There is very little information coming in or out of the country. That has a pretty serious impact on people.
They do not have access to the internet. They don't know what's going on outside or even inside the country.
One of the ways people realized things were different outside the country was when they escaped to China and saw that everyone was eating white rice. White rice is a luxury in North Korea.
The UN rights official said the government has emphasized economic development, which is a welcome move.
The flagship programs include things like the 20-by-10 project, which is to construct factories in 20 counties every year for 10 years. A large amount of hospital construction also is reported.
There are thousands of 3G telephone masts across the country, where more than 20 types of smartphones are available.
People now widely use their phones for mobile banking.
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