북한 인권문제와 동아시아 인권 거버넌스: 국제 레짐이론을 중심으로

Abstract

Human rights have been one of the major concerns to the international society since the collapse of the Cold War and there has been a remarkable progress in the efforts for conceptualization and institutionalization of human rights during the last century. However, the problematic conditions of human rights in North Korea remain as a serious problem in East Asia, where no regional human rights regime has yet been established. North Korea’s human rights violations are not merely a problem to Korea peninsula but also to the whole East Asia region, thus requires a multilayered and multidimensional approach for ultimate resolution. Differences in the understanding and conceptualiza- tion of the concept of human rights and cost of external intervention have served as barriers in the international efforts for the improvement of human rights conditions in North Korea. The present paper is to discuss theoretical approaches to deal with North Korea's human rights discussion and lay out a realistic and tangible plan for the ultimate resolution of the human rights violations in North Korea and further improvement of human rights in East Asia. Specifically, this paper will suggest a regional human rights regime through bottom－up approach with emphasis on the role of NGOs and civil society be established in East Asia for effective human rights governance.