North Korea threatens ′merciless actions′ if Seoul hosts UN office 북한 조평통 인권사무

North Korea has threatened ″merciless punishment″ against South Korea... if it hosts a UN field office to monitor Pyongyang′s human rights situation. The office， which was one of the recommendations by a UN committee on North Korea′s human rights， is set to open in Seoul... in a few months. Hwang Sung－hee reports. North Korea is upping tensions on the Korean peninsula， saying it will push ahead with ″merciless action″ against the South if it goes ahead with the opening of a UN office on Pyongyang′s human rights in Seoul. In a statement on Monday， the North Korean committee in charge of inter－Korean affairs said it won′t just sit back and watch the office open， threatening Seoul will be the first target of ruthless punishment. It added the South was making an unforgivable provocation against the regime′s dignity. The establishment of the Seoul office to monitor North Korea′s human rights was one of the actions recommended in a UN report released last year. The UN′s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said last week that it′s still finalizing administrative matters for the establishment of the office but said it is expected to open during the second quarter of this year. This isn′t the first time North Korea has protested Seoul′s hosting of the office， but comes amid growing international pressure on Pyongyang for it to improve its human rights situation. Last Friday， the UN Human Rights Council adopted a new resolution on the North′s human rights violations， urging Pyongyang to release its political prisoners. Hwang Sung－hee， Arirang News.