FILE PHOTO: U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun pictured here attending as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Korea’s President Moon Jae-in in New York, U.S. September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nominee for the U.S. State Department’s number-two position said on Wednesday he had no reason to doubt reports about China’s treatment of ethnic minorities, including the Uighurs, and the elimination of Muslim heritage sites.

“I have no reason to question the veracity of these, and in fact I think all of these reports suggest an appalling type of behavior that is targeted against an ethnic population and a religious community in China, and it’s unacceptable,” Stephen Biegun said during his hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.