Three North Korean diplomats caused a commotion at the U.N. on Thursday during a U.S. and South Korean panel on human rights in North Korea, storming out of the event after reading an unauthorized statement of protest.
The incident occurred when one North Korean diplomat disrupted statements being made by one of the 20 North Korean defectors present at the event, Reuters reported.
Defector Joseph Kim spoke about his father dying of starvation, his mother being jailed for traveling to and from China, and how he experienced a childhood of poverty and hunger before fleeing. As Kim finished his statement, diplomat Ri Song Chol abruptly began delivering an unexpected statement.
The moderator asked Ri to stop and said he would be given an opportunity to speak later, but Ri continued to read the statement, calling the defectors traitors who abandoned their homeland.
Ri claimed that Thursday's panel was a "one-sided political drama" and an attempt by the U.S. to topple the North's regime.
Last year, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry released a report detailing human rights abuses in North Korea that it compared to Nazi-era atrocities.
During his 6-minute speech, Ri also accused the U.S. of "murdering innocent black people," pointing to the deaths of African-Americans in Baltimore and Ferguson as proof that the U.S. "is the true kingpin of human rights violations," France 24 reported.
A microphone was briefly turned on for Ri as he referred to "ungrounded allegations" and "hostile policy" towards his country, but U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power asked U.N. staff to turn off Ri's microphone and security guards were dispatched to the conference room.
"There is no need for a microphone," Power said. "Please shut the mic down because this is not an authorized presentation... Please ensure that the microphone is not live.. We are calling U.N. security," according to The Associated Press.
At the same time, defectors stood up and began shouting various phrases in Korean. A Korean-speaking observer told AP that those phrases included "Shut up!" "Free North Korea!" "Down with Kim Jong Un!" and "Even animals know to wait their turn!"
The three North Korean diplomats then stood up and left the room, telling reporters that they were denied the opportunity to speak as a U.N. member-state.
Power accused the North Koreans of "bullying" and said they knew that they would be given a chance to speak.
"The delegation chose instead to try to drown out the testimony of these panelists," Power said.
"It must be chilling for those of you who have been subjected to the terror of the regime to be confronted with bullying and disruption and the kind of behavior that we saw today," she continued, adding, "Such statements are totally self-discrediting."
