Statement from the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea welcoming the visit of the Republic of Korea’s President Yoon to Parliament.
“President Yoon’s speech to Parliament was well judged and well delivered. He and the first lady won hearts and minds. He has an impressive and great command of the English language, of our nation’s story, and the ideas which unite us – not least his insistence that together we stand for “a free and open international order.” Faced with an axis of dictators – in North Korea, Russia, China and Iran – it is crucially important that the free nations of the world stand with one another in their defence of democracy, the rule of law , sovereignty, and human rights.
“These were points underlined by Mr.Speaker and the Lord Speaker in their speeches of welcome.
“The President reminded his audience of our combined defence of freedom some seventy years ago during the Korean War. And it was moving that one of our veterans, Colion Thackery, was able to be present and was referred to by name by President Yoon. He paid tribute to the memory of more than 1000 British servicemen who lost their lives in the war against Communism – and in the context of past struggles he rightly spoke of the dangers facing the world today.
“ I had the opportunity to meet and talk to him and Foreign Minister Park Jin, who is a great friend of the United Kingdom.
“I gave the President a letter from the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, which I co-chair with Sir Geoffrey-Clifton Brown MP, raising the plight of North Korean escapees who have been forcibly repatriated to North Korea by China, in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. And I urged him to use the Republic of Korea’s forthcoming membership of the Security Council to ensure that the 10 year old recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry into North Korea’s egregious violations of human rights are finally acted upon.”
