Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of BBC reports that North Korean teenagers have been sentenced to hard labour for viewing K-drama, when they last raised violations of human rights directly with the North Korean Ambassador to the UK and the North Korean regime, and what response they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the many reports of serious and wide-ranging human rights violations in the country, including the recent report by the BBC. The UK regularly raises our concerns about the DPRK's dire human rights record through its embassy in London and we remain committed to using all bilateral and multilateral channels to hold the DPRK to account, and urge the DPRK to address its human rights record to bring about permanent change and improvements for the people of North Korea.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will raise the current escalation in North Korea at the next session of the Security Council.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK consistently condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) persistent ballistic missile testing which breaches multiple UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and threatens regional peace and stability. The UK joined partners in calling for UNSC consultations on 18 January, where Ambassador James Kariuki condemned the DPRK's violation of UNSC resolutions and complete disregard for the international non-proliferation regime. We will continue to call out the DPRK's illegal actions until it returns to full adherence to its international obligations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula following Kim Jong-Un's speech of 16 January and recent missile tests; and what steps they have taken to prevent export of weapons and ammunition from North Korea.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are closely monitoring recent statements from Pyongyang, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) continued testing of ballistic missiles. The UK issued a joint statement on 12 January with 50 countries strongly condemning the DPRK's ballistic missile transfers to Russia. The transfer and use of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia's war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. The DPRK is already subject to a robust sanctions regime and the UK will continue to work with our partners to hold the DPRK to account for engaging in illegal arms transfers and breaching its international obligations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to summon the ambassador of North Korea over the risk of conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is closely monitoring tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) ballistic missile launches, which breach United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. We unequivocally condemn all actions that endanger the peace and stability of the region. We continue to raise these issues bilaterally with the DPRK through their Embassy in London. The UK will continue to hold them to account for their destabilising behaviour and urge them to return to dialogue.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of North Korea providing military support to Russia.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has supplied weapons, including ballistic missiles, to Russia, as fifty Foreign Ministers made clear in their 9 January joint statement. At a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on 10 January, the UK joined partners in condemning the use of DPRK-supplied ballistic missiles by Russia against Ukraine. The DPRK is already subject to a robust sanctions regime and the UK will continue to work with our partners to hold the DPRK to account for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. We will continue to work with allies and partners to identify, expose, and counter Russian attempts to acquire military equipment from third countries.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister during the oral statement on Defending the UK and Allies of 15 January 2024, Official Report, column 577, for what reason only forces from the UK and USA took part in the action in the Red Sea on 11 January 2024.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK and United States' military action on 12 January against Houthi targets was taken with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.
Ten countries, including Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and Republic of Korea, signed a joint statement on the strikes, re-iterating to the Houthis that we will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats.
This followed a 3 January joint statement from by the UK, US and ten allies, including Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, calling for the immediate end to the Houthis' illegal activities.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he has taken to help prevent the supply of Democratic People's Republic of Korea ammunitions to Russia.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) export and Russia's procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, and Russia's decision to use DPRK-supplied missiles in recent attacks against Ukraine. The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia's war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. It also violates multiple UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), which Russia itself voted for, and highlights Putin's desperation and isolation on the global stage. On 12 January, the UK issued a joint statement with other Foreign Ministers calling for all UN Member States to condemn Russia and the DPRK's UNSCR violations. The DPRK is subject to a robust sanctions regime and the UK will continue to work with our partners to influence and to hold the DPRK to account for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government has made an assessment of potential opportunities for collaboration with the Republic of Korea on nuclear energy projects in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We recognise the opportunities to cooperate with South Korea on civil nuclear, including on fuel supply chains; safety; security; non-proliferation; decommissioning; and the development of new reactors, in both countries. This is underpinned by agreements signed between us in November 2023.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will set out (a) the free trade agreements her Department is currently actively negotiating and (b) the number of FTE officials engaged in this work.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is currently in negotiations with eight partners – India, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Switzerland, Greenland and the Republic of Korea. We also have plans to start negotiations with Turkey and the Maldives.
With the Machine of Government, Trade Negotiation Group increased its responsibility to cover wider trade policy and FTA implementation. In October 2023, DBT had 722 staff in the Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the yearly revenue earned by Russian state-owned entities from the sale of nuclear fuel products to (1) EU countries, (2) NATO countries, (3) Japan, and (4) the Republic of Korea.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the June 2022 Group of Seven Leaders’ Communique, the Government joined with G7 partners to state our collective intent to reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chains.
To this end, the Government has led discussions within the ‘Sapporo 5’ group of nuclear energy leaders Canada, France, Japan, and the United States to identify potential areas of collaboration on nuclear fuels, with the goal of reduced global dependence on Russian supply chains. UK regularly raises the topic of dependency on Russia for civil nuclear goods and materials with likeminded international partners and supports efforts to diversify.