Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that state contracted companies from the United Kingdom which implement projects inside North Korea abide by relevant International Labour Organisation Conventions on labour standards, respect human rights, and comply with United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and whether they conduct monitoring and evaluation of their funded projects in North Korea.

All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) programme expenditure, not least activity taking place in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), undergoes a formal approval process. Approval requires the proposal to be agreed by a board, based on an assessment by our Embassy, who must agree that the activity meets our objectives for the country in question and that the implementing organisation will be an effective partner. In line with departmental guidance, projects undertaken in all countries are subject to monitoring and evaluation to ensure the expenditure met FCO priorities and was delivered in an efficient, effective, sustainable and impactful manner. This monitoring takes place on expenditure in the DPRK.