North Korea's Kim could be exposed to war crimes: ex-ICC boss

According to a former ICC president who said that “the time for right”, the North Korean leader Kim Jong and could be brought to trial by the International Criminal Court.

Newsweek The North Korean embassy in China has contacted the North Korean message by e -mail to get a comment.

Why is it important

The ICC, founded in 2002, pursues individuals for serious crimes: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The youngest leaders who are subject to the ICC arrest are the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The 125 Member States of the ICCHH must have a nationals of non-signatories on the Rome-Statute-Treat to the creation of the court resident in Haag if they enter their territory.

This obligation also extends to persons whose alleged crimes had occurred during their country, as was the case with the former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested by the authorities of his country and transferred to the Hague in March.

What to know?

Song Sang-Hyun, who worked as an ICC President from 2009 to 2015, said on Monday at a human rights conference in Seoul that the conditions for Kim Jong Un Reif were now to be transferred to the court against Ukraine through North Korea's military support in Russia.

North Korea began to use troops to Russia at the end of last year, and took Moscow armed forces during a month -long Ukrainian counter -offensive in the Kursk region. The two governments only officially recognized the presence of North Korean soldiers on site at the end of the last month.

Song said that the deployment had given the Ukraine legal reasons to submit a complaint to the court.

While the court can initiate its own investigations, he added: “A complaint from Ukraine would be very ideal,” quoted Yonhap News Agency.

The public prosecutor's office told Newsweek Communication with governments or other state representatives does not comment.

The court issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, citing alleged war crimes in connection with the deportation of the Ukrainian children to Russia since the beginning of the invasion of February 2022.

In view of the international conviction for the conflict, Kim North Korea's involvement was justified as fulfilling the conditions of the military aid package, which he signed with Putin in Pyongyang in June 2024.

According to the estimates of the High Human Rights Commissioner of the United Nations, estimates of the three -year conflicts were dead and over 30,000 injured in March.

What people say

Kim Jong Un, in a speech in the Russian embassy in Pyongyang on May 9: “Those who find the commitment of our armed forces incorrectly [in the war against Ukraine] are recommended to think about it …

“If they had not committed a hideous crime of the interference in the Russian territory, the invaders could have avoided fate to become dead souls, hit our swords and spears. Our participation in the war was justified, and this is one of our sovereign rights.”

The preliminary procedure chamber II of the International Criminal Court said in his arrest warrant of 2023: “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin … President of the Russian Federation is said to be responsible for the war crimes of illegal deportation and the illegal transfer of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

What happens next

It remains unclear whether the ICC or the Ukrainian authorities intend to open a war crime against Kim.

Even if an arrest warrant has been issued, it is highly unlikely that the 41-year-old guide will be enforced, who has only visited a mainly friendly countries since 2011.

By effective restricting the trips to the 125 Member States of the ICC, the arrest warrants demand a psychological tribute and give a stigma that the accused “has to wear all of her life,” said Song.