Category Archives: Defectors
One LFNKR Aid Center Closed Down
“I can no longer help defectors,” Mr. Kim told me.
For the past three years, he has worked with us, continually facing danger and difficulty as he has aided defectors. He is the person running JSH-01, one of five shelters situated along the Sino-Korean border. Recently, he has grown increasingly anxious as Chinese public safety and border defense units toughened their crackdown even further.
11-Year-Old Former Refugee Plays Chopin
Entire Family Succeeding
One of LFNKR’s directors is Dr. W, a Zainichi (ethnic Korean resident of Japan). Recently he was invited to visit a former North Korean refugee family. They are the first family that LFNKR ever helped resettle in Japan. When they reached safety in Japan 11 years ago, their daughter was only one year old. In the intervening years, Dr. W has witnessed this family’s hardship and their difficulties securing work in Japan.
China Attempts Blackmail of Japan over NK Refugees
– North Korean refugees trapped 2 years in Japanese diplomatic missions in China
– China demands Japan stop accepting and protecting North Korean refugees.
On July 8, the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, ran a feature by journalist Takuya Suzuki. According to this article, the Chinese government is demanding a written pledge from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) that no Japanese diplomatic mission in China will ever again accept or protect North Korean refugees.
2 Foster Children – 2 Success Stories
LFNKR Education Sponsorship Program
The first inspiring story involves a 9-year-old foster child being supported under the LFNKR education sponsorship program who has reached South Korea and been restored to his mother. This means that the child has graduated from our sponsorship program.
LFNKR Members Visit Golden Triangle
Summary Report
As part of this organization’s ongoing rescue research activities, we dispatched several of members to the Northern Thailand border area in early July 2010. This is the so-called “Golden Triangle” area encompassing parts of Laos, Myanmar and Northern Thailand. The area was once famed as a heroin production and trafficking route, but now it is very well known among North Korean refugees as the entryway to sanctuary in Thailand.
Survivor of NK Starvation Speaks
NK orphan talks about the movie “Crossing”
At the Jan. 29 preview of the movie “Crossing” in Tokyo, one of LFNKR’s foster children joined the preview press conference to talk about her experiences. An orphan, she had lost her parents to starvation in North Korea, but is now a university student in South Korea. LFNKR members are happy see that she has grown into such a fine lady. The movie apparently reminded her of her own childhood.
Visit to Bangkok’s Immigrant Detention Center
Although Thailand is not the final destination for North Korean defectors flowing into this country, this flow is currently the largest in the world, outside of China. The numbers have steadily increased over the past several years. According to the Thai government, about 1,000 North Korean defectors were detained here in 2007. From 2008 and after, the Thai government stopped publicly announcing numbers, but my estimation is about 1,500 in 2008 and a bit higher in 2009.
University in US Recognizes LFNKR Director Noguchi
University Website Mentions Noguchi’s New Book
Arkansas State University posted an article, Thursday June 3rd, on its school news website, Inside ASU, describing the new book written by alumnus Takayuki Noguchi. The book, entitled Escaping with North Korean Defectors, relates his experiences in China as he helped North Korean refugees escape to freedom.