Disability in North Korea

Part of a series on
Human rights in North Korea
Human rights abuses
Political prisons (Kwanliso)
Re-education camps (Kyohwaso)
Abductions and POWs
International reactions

Reliable information about disability in North Korea, like other information about social conditions in the country, is difficult to find.[1] As of 2016, North Korea is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[2]

Under Kim Il Sung, disabled veterans enjoyed a high social status. A factory to employ disabled soldiers was established in 1970.[3] Life for the other disabled under Kim Il Sung was "sad, if not horrible", according to North Korea scholar Fyodor Tertitskiy.[4] In 1998, the Korean Association for Supporting the Disabled was established, later renamed the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, to represent the rights and interests of people with disabilities with support from the Ministry of Public Health.[5]

  1. ^ Anete Bandone (2012). Policy Briefing - Human Rights in North Korea (PDF) (Report). Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies -European Union.
  2. ^ Macdonald, Hamish (25 November 2016). "North Korea to ratify disability convention: state media". NK News. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Kim Jong Un Visits Rangnang Disabled Soldiers' Essential Plastic Goods Factory". The Rodong Sinmun. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  4. ^ Tertitskiy, Fyodor (22 August 2016). "North Korea and the Olympic Games". NK News. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference zellweger-201403 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).