North Korea denounces US trafficking report as an effort to “weaponize human rights,” calling it part of Washington’s hostile policy

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the United States’ 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, saying it was intended to politicize human rights and formed part of Washington’s continuing hostile policy toward Pyongyang.

A ministry spokesperson described the report as containing “lies, fabrications, prejudice and hostility” and said it encroached on North Korea’s sovereignty and internal affairs. The ministry said it rejected the document in the strongest terms.

The US report assigned North Korea its lowest trafficking ranking, Tier 3, and cited what it described as a government policy or pattern of trafficking in political prison camps and labor training centers.