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Dec. 18 (UPI) -- North Korea has adopted a bill requiring all buildings to be wheelchair accessible, according to state media. North Korea said the law would improve facilities for the disabled, Pyongyang's state-controlled news agency KCNA reported Wednesday.
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"Construction regulation standardizing barrier-free buildings has been adopted," KCNA said.
The report added, "A barrier-free environment is an environment in which people with disabilities can move around freely."
The Kim Jong Un regime has previously said the rights of the disabled are guaranteed under its disability protection act. Pyongyang has said the law "respects disabled persons, and ensures they have the same social, political rights and freedoms as healthy people," according to Yonhap.
KCNA also said Wednesday the regime's federation for the protection of the disabled has been carrying out "training" regarding rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
North Korea has previously said the rights of citizens with disabilities are being protected. In July, Pyongyang sent athletes to China for a table tennis tournament. North Korean athletes won the championship.
North Korea has also participated in the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, held in London and Rio de Janeiro, respectively.
Pyongyang faces criticism from the international community for lack of initiative on other fronts beyond its nuclear weapons program, however.
The World Organization for Animal Health, OIE, has said North Korea must disclose more information on the current status of African swine fever.
The disease has spread to neighboring South Korea, which has contained the epidemic that affects pigs.
Wild boars testing positive for ASF continue to be found at the border, however.
Newsis reported Wednesday a dead boar found inside the civilian access control line in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, tested positive for the virus.
A total of 47 infected wild boars were found in 2019.
