Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea A/RES/80/220 independently monitor, document and report on human rights violations in the country, Recalling the collaboration established between the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in providing human rights briefings to a small number of government officials in Geneva in May 2019, November 2024 and August 2025, and urging that such technical cooperation be resumed and broadened, Stressing the importance of extending the cooperation of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the field-based structure of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the region, Noting the record of cooperation between the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in order to improve the food security, nutrition, health, water and sanitation situation in the country, noting with appreciation the role of international aid, and encouraging the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to ensure that assistance benefiting persons in need can be resumed, Noting with grave concern the adverse impact of the humanitarian situation on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Noting with grave concern also the exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea due to the policies and practices of the Government, and their adverse impacts, including malnutrition, resulting from government limits on access to adequate food, health services, water and sanitation, Condemning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for continuing to divert a disproportionate amount of its resources into military spending and the pursuit of its unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes over the welfare of its people, and emphasizing the necessity for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect and ensure the welfare and inherent dignity of the people in the country, as referred to by the Security Council in its resolutions 2321 (2016) of 30 November 2016, 2371 (2017) of 5 August 2017, 2375 (2017) of 11 September 2017 and 2397 (2017) of 22 December 2017, Noting with concern the government restrictions that have compelled the international staff of humanitarian agencies to leave the country and suspend assistance projects and the effect that these restrictions may have had on the levels of malnutrition and access to health services, water and sanitation, Urging the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to allow full, safe, rapid and unhindered international access for the purpose of carrying out independent needs assessments, to inform any decision to return international staff to the country, Stressing that the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including with respect to gender equality and the rights of all women and girls, including adolescent girls, is intrinsically linked to international peace and security, since the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea funds its unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes through human rights violations and abuses, Expressing grave concern at the institutionalized use of forced labour, including the exploitation of workers sent abroad, and urging all States to comply with 25-20980 3/14