Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the treatment of Christians in North Korea; and what steps the Government is taking to raise freedom of religion or belief with international partners.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply concerned by unacceptable reports of ongoing, widespread, and systematic human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and a key strand of our DPRK human rights strategy. The UK regularly raises concerns about the DPRK's human rights violations, including the lack of freedom of religion or belief, both with the DPRK embassy in London and in multilateral fora. On 20 November 2025, the UK co-sponsored the UN General Assembly's Third Committee resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her South Korean counterpart on issues relating to the prospects for unification on the Korean peninsula.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Diplomacy and negotiations are the best way to secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea is a valued partner with whom we routinely discuss these important issues.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage dialogue between North and South Korea.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Diplomacy and negotiations are the best way to secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea is a valued partner with whom we routinely discuss these important issues.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the role of China in influencing stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Diplomacy and negotiations are the best way to secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea is a valued partner with whom we routinely discuss these important issues.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to his counterpart in Ukraine on the capture of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces and their reported desire to defect to South Korea.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns North Korea's military support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, and we remain deeply concerned about the deepening strategic relationship between Russia and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which has significant implications for Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security.
Decisions regarding the status and future of prisoners of war captured in Ukraine are for the Ukrainian authorities to determine, in consultation with relevant partners and in accordance with applicable legal and humanitarian frameworks.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Inter-Mediate has received funding from the Government for work on (a) China and (b) North Korea.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 25 September to Question 70454.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the UN Human Rights Office entitled Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, published on 12 September 2025; and what diplomatic steps she is taking with her international partners help protect (a) human rights defenders and (b) religious leaders in the country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the September 2025 report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made clear, there has been no improvement in the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2014. In response to this report, the UK issued a statement at the UN Human Rights Council. We called on the DPRK to engage meaningfully with the international community, to take credible steps to improve its human rights record and to grant all UN human rights mechanisms access into the country. We have also raised our concerns with the DPRK's Embassy in London. We regularly discuss with key international partners how to address the DPRK's human rights record, including on freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on the ongoing detention of (a) Pastor Kim Jung-Wook, (b) Missionary Kim Kook-kie and (c) Missionary Choi Chun-gil in North Korea; and whether she is taking diplomatic steps to ensure their release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief is a key strand of our human rights strategy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the UK regularly raises its concerns about these issues both bilaterally via the embassy in London and in multilateral fora. On 23 September 2025, our Human Rights Ambassador issued a statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling on the DPRK to engage meaningfully with the international community on human rights issues.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many students attend the Royal College of Defence Studies from (a) Russia, (b) China, (c) Iran and (d) North Korea.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The provision of professional military education or training to a foreign Governments is dependent on a number of factors, including the nature of our partnerships and course availability, and is kept under regular review. Any decision is made on a case-by-case basis and is underpinned by a robust assessment as to the benefits, risks, and compliance with international human rights law. In the interests of national security and upholding trust and confidentiality in our international partnerships, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on the current provision of training to individual countries or the numbers of individuals on specific courses.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the extent of unwitting employment by UK firms of hoax remote workers who have concealed the fact that they are North Korean.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On Thursday 12th September 2024, The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published an advisory notice on North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers. OFSI assessed that it is almost certain that UK firms are currently being targeted North Korean IT workers disguised as freelance third-country IT workers to generate revenue for Designated Persons (DPs) operating on behalf of the North Korean regime. DPRK IT workers have skills in areas including, but not limited to, software development, IT support, graphic design, and animation.
The advisory identifies six key threats linked to North Korean IT workers’ activity affecting UK firms, lists red flag indicators for UK firms to identify North Korean IT workers, and makes recommendations for mitigation measures for UK firms to better protect themselves against this threat.
OFSI continues to work with wider Government and international partners to track the deployment of DPRK IT workers abroad and map the development and evolution of this threat of proliferation financing in light of increased industry awareness. OFSI will take robust, proportionate action in response to breaches of financial sanctions. In the most serious cases, we will not hesitate to impose civil monetary penalties or refer cases for criminal investigation where appropriate.