UN panel visits South Korea to gather information on the North

A U.N. commission charged with investigating human rights in North Korea will visit South Korea next week as part of its mission, the government said. The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the Aug. 17-27 visit is designed to collect information and data on human rights conditions in the reclusive communist country, Yonhap reported. Three U.N.-appointed investigators led by Chairman Michael Kirby will focus mainly on defectors living in South Korea and the families of South Koreans kidnapped by the North. They will be accompanied by six other Commission of Inquiry officials who will gather first-hand testimony on North Korea's human rights conditions. The 10-day visit will include a series of public hearings and meetings with local experts on North Korean human rights. The panel was denied permission to visit China, the Foreign Ministry said. The Independent U.N. body is scheduled to submit its final report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March.