Annual Report 2014 3) Strengthening International Cooperation ① International Symposium for the Promotion of Human Rights in North Korea7) The NHRCK has organized an international symposium every year since 2004 to inform the international community of the Commission’s activities for the promotion of human rights in North Korea and strengthen cooperation with the international community in developing policy directions and strategies for the promotion of human rights in North Korea. In 2014, it held the international symposium under the title of, “the World’s Tasks and Strategies to Improve North Korean Human Rights in the wake of the UN COI” at Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur in Berlin in partnership with Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin) and the Hwa-jeong Peace Foundation of Dong-A News Journal (May 13). ② On-site Investigation Overseas From the 8th to the 12th of December, the NHRCK conducted on-site investigations in the China-North Korea border areas of the Tumen River basin in order to examine the current status of North Korean defectors in the Three Northeastern Provinces of China, where a number of North Korean defectors reside, and study China’s policy toward North Korean defectors. In addition, it visited Geneva, from the 15th to the 21st of March, to monitor the UN COI report and understand international trends on North Korean human rights issues. It also continued to build and strengthen its cooperative network with major international NGOs including Human Rights Watch. 7) For detailed information, see Chapter 4 Section 2 (International Exchange and Cooperation) 72 ▪▪▪ Part II. Major Activities of the Commission