A/HRC/7/20 page 2 Summary The present report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea covers the period from 2007 to the beginning of 2008. The country was often in the news during the period under review due to the nuclear issue, which is being dealt with under the umbrella of the six-party talks involving China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America. Those talks also provided an avenue to address some human rights issues, thus providing more humanitarian space in a variety of settings. The human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains grave in a number of key areas. This report examines the situation particularly from the following perspectives: human rights and the development process: the inequity factor?; access to food and other necessities: the disparity factor?; rights and freedoms: the insecurity factor?; displacement and asylum: the (im)mobility factor?; groups of special concern: the inequality factor?; and consequences of violence and violations: the impunity factor? While much depends upon global-local political will to test the desire for transparency and responsibility, whether through softer or harder entry points, it is important to underline the longstanding and systematic nature of human rights transgressions in the country which are highly visible, substantial and exponential. The report ends with a variety of recommendations to both the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the world community to ensure the improvement of the protection of human rights in the country.