Section 4. Special Task and Featured Projects 1. Special Task: Reinforcing Activities to Promote North Korean Human Rights A. Overview 1) Background The NHRCK established the “North Korean Human Rights Research Team,” a non-standing body, after its 40th Plenary Committee Meeting in 2003. From 2003 to 2008 when the team was in place, it conducted research into human rights status in North Korea and hosted annual international conferences. Based on the team’s research, the Commission announced the “Opinion on Human Rights Conditions in North Korea” in 2006, selected “North Korean Human Rights Issues” as one of its 10 priority projects in 2007, and adopted “Reinforcing Policy Efforts to Improve North Korean Human Rights Conditions” as one of its 6 priority projects for 2008. Particularly in 2010, the Commission formed a new “North Korean Human Rights Team” to carry out activities related to North Korean human rights in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Since North Korean human rights issues have become increasingly important and have received growing attention from international organizations such as the United Nations, the Commission again designated the promotion of North Korean human rights issues as its special task in 2009 and has carried out the project so far. 2) Objectives The objectives of promoting the human rights of North Koreans are to i) monitor their current status and seek measures to improve them by conducting objective and specialized research and investigations, ii) systematically collect and manage data related to North Korean human rights, iii) vigorously pursue cooperation with international organizations Chapter 1. Improvement of Laws, Regulations, Policies and Practices 69