Monthly Archives: April 2015
Fleeing North Korea Part 1
Fleeing North Korea: Southeast Asia
Part 1: The Rescue Mission Begins
By Takayuki Noguchi
(This is the first article in the series “Fleeing North Korea: Southeast Asia” by LFNKR’s Takayuki Noguchi)
On December 10, 2003, I was convicted by the Chinese authorities of traveling with North Korean defectors and sentenced to eight months in prison. The two defectors I was with were also detained and then forcibly repatriated to North Korea. I heard that one of them was tortured and died, and the other was sent to a prison camp for six months. After I was released, I decided to record as much as possible about what had happened. The result was “Fleeing North Korea” (Japanese; published 2010).
Obituary
Rest in peace, Kenkichi Nakadaira
It is with great sadness that Life Funds for North Korean Refugees announces the passing of its founding Executive Director, Kenkichi Nakadaira at the age of 89 from heart failure.
We are deeply grateful for the selfless devotion he showed, becoming the bedrock of the fledgling organization that LFNKR then was. LFNKR, a recognized NPO, is the organization it is today because of the foundation that Nakadaira-sensei established. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Nakadaira-sensei for everything he has done and we express our deepest condolences to his family.
LFNKR Exect Kato Interviewed
Emil Truszkowski, a Polish journalist, who is the first subscriber to the LFNKR YouTube site, visited LFNKR office in Tokyo to interview Hiroshi Kato, the executive director. He has posted the interview at his channel “Welcome to North Korea.” Truszkowski expressed his wish to help Polish people become aware of the North Korea human rights issue.
LFNKR to participate in NK human rights event
LFNKR board member will join Japan’s NK human rights symposium in NY
On May 5th, 2015, the government of Japan will host the international symposium on human rights violations by North Korea, including their record of abductions. LFNKR is dispatching a permanent board member to participate in the special event.