In February, 2006, the mother of 5-year-old Kim Yong-soon
was arrested and repatriated to North Korea.
Six years ago, the mother, a young North Korean woman who had
fled the country of her birth, was sold into a forced marriage
to
a Chinese man. She quickly became pregnant
and
gave birth
to daughter
Kim Yong-soon. This daughter, Yong-soon is being supported under
LFNKR's foster parent program.
The mother was arrested by a Chinese police raid squad at 11:30
pm on Feb. 25 and handed over to the North Korean security police
3 days later. She had already been repatriated twice before but
had managed to escape and return to her family in China.
The LFNKR local staff in China reported to us that it will be
impossible for her to return again, since this is her third repatriation.
LFNKR questions why Chinese government policies show no mercy,
callously tearing apart families, separating mothers and children
with no regard to human feeling.
In cities near the border, including Yanji and Longjin, under
the joint intensified crackdown, North Korean authorities provide
Chinese security police with information on North Korean defectors.
Chinese police are motivated by the high bounties being paid
by the government. For each arrest, they are paid 2,000 RMB,
a sum that equals the monthly salary of most university graduates
in China.
Read additional
background on conditions along the China-North
Korea border. For more about 5-year-old Kim Yong-soon and her
situation read this
interview with local staff members.
In another development, Grace Yoon recently sent us an update
on her 68-year-old father, Rev. Phillip J. Buck, who is being
held
in
a Chinese
jail.
On
December 31, 2005 he was tried for helping North Korean refugees,
and is now awaiting sentencing. We urge everyone to please
pray for his immediate and safe release.
Read more
information about Rev. Buck.
