SEOUL, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- North Korea denounced the United States and Japan for double standards in human rights and accused Japan of unregulated child sex abuse, as Tokyo and the European Union prepare a draft resolution on North Korea human rights violations.
Pyongyang's state media KCNA made the sex abuse claims Monday in an article titled, "Mind your own children," South Korean outlet Newsis reported.
"In Japan, child sex abuse is prevalent...crimes of pornography, sex trafficking targeting children, and all kinds of ugly acts are taking place on the Internet without restraint," North Korea said in a statement.
Pyongyang's rare remark addressing Japan's domestic affairs could be referring to the circulation of sexually abusive images of children in manga comics.
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The Guardian reported in late October the U.N.'s special envoy on child protection had condemned the continued sales of "extreme child pornographic content," part of the multimillion-dollar manga industry in Japan. Until recently, Japan was the only G-7 nation where images showing sex abuse of children were legal.
On Monday, North Korea also accused Japan of not prosecuting sex abusers, and that when suspects are tried and found guilty they are fined a small sum of money or serve a light probationary sentence.
"The root cause of child sex abuse in Japan is the moral corruption and anti-people politics of those in power...who choose to defend the past practice of recruiting sex slaves into the Japanese military," Pyongyang said, adding that Japan was a terrible violator of human rights for "ignoring the need for child protection."
North Korea also lambasted the United States for increased income inequality and cases of racial discrimination and accused Washington of holding a double standard on human rights, Yonhap reported.
In an article published in the Rodong Sinmun on Friday, North Korea stated that "the United States, the world's worst wasteland of human rights," is where "the privileged 1 percent exploits the 99 percent of the population...as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Pyongyang accused its enemy of not even providing even the most elementary support for survival.
