Category Archives: North Korea
Open Letter to Xi Jinping
Dear Mr. President:
We call on the Chinese government to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors
On October 9th, the Chinese government forcibly repatriated approximately 600 North Korean defectors who had been arrested and detained during the coronavirus period.
North Korea had refused to accept defectors repatriated from China due to coronavirus prevention measures, but after declaring victory over the coronavirus, it reopened the border between North Korea and China.
Basic Report on Human Rights Conditions in North Korea
On Feb. 16, Hiroshi Kato, Executive Director of LFNKR lectured on the abuse of human rights in North Korea in response to an invitation by the Working Team for Enhancing Human Rights Diplomacy and International Contribution of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Based on the UN human rights report on North Korea 2014, Mr. Kato’s talk covered the specific human rights abuses still going on in North Korea according to actual experiences of North Korean defectors interviewed by LFNKR. So far, LFNKR has helped over 200 North Korean defectors to reach the destinations where they wished to resettle, including in Japan.
New Year Greetings for 2021
As we begin this momentous new year, I would like to extend our wishes for your good health and prosperity.
A possible solution to the ongoing confrontation with the U.S. over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, missiles, and intercontinental ballistic missiles was discussed at the Singapore summit, but the talks broke down at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi. This setback discourages expectations for an early peace.
World opinion has turned to the economic sanctions on North Korea. In addition to the sanctions, their failure to gain foreign currency has brought deep financial difficulties.
Furthermore, the invasion of the COVID-19 virus has directly hit North Korea as a result of their poor quarantine system. This has led to a total blockade of their border with China. This grave economic failure is further aggravating the human rights violations and starvation in that country.
Although we are all busy fighting the pandemic, I believe that we should not forget the human rights issue in North Korea, which is still unresolved.
In spite of the difficult situation, we at LFNKR remain dedicated to helping the vulnerable and to continuing our human rights and humanitarian aid activities. We deeply appreciate your caring and your continued support.
Kato Hiroshi,
Executive Director of Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR)
Interview with a North Korean defector
In May of this year, a 17-year-old boy in Switzerland contacted LFNKR. He is, he said, working on his thesis about North Korea. He asked us if we could arrange for him to interview a North Korean defector. So, we forwarded his list of questions to Kim Su-hyong.
Mr. Kim, who escaped from North Korea in 2017, now lives in Japan. The following questions and answers are good, basic information about North Korea and the current situation there.
Why she had to flee from North Korea
As part of its important activities, LFNKR has been supporting former North Korean defectors who come to Japan and resettle. Ms. Kim SH is one of the defectors whom LFNKR has helped to build up her new career in Japan. In her busy daily life, employed as a medical worker, she frequently provides LFNKR with utmost help in its activities, such as events related to North Korean human rights issue, often as a speaker describing what life is like in North Korea.
Human Rights and Denuclearization of Equal Importance
LFNKR Statement on Historic Singapore Summit between US President and North Korean Leader
June 15, 2018
On June 12, 2018, the world watched as a historic US-North Korea summit was held, and a written agreement was signed by the two leaders. Contrary to the hopes of the majority of people, no one knows
Hundreds of slave laborers missing ?
North Korea announced on May 12 that it will invite journalists from South Korea, the United States, China, England and Russia to witness the shutdown of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Hamgyong Province between May 23 and 25. Major North Korean media, including Korean Central News Agency and Korean Central Broadcasting, report that the closure will be accomplished by
Mapping Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea
New Report on Rights Abuses
Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), a Seoul-based non-governmental organization, published on July 19 a report entitled “Mapping Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea.”
Providing information on the killing sites, mass graves, and documentary evidence, the report adds to the report more specific information to the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in DPRK” by UN Human Rights Council.
LFNKR applauds the great efforts of TJWG to prepare this unique report. It has already generated new momentum for thoroughly investigating the crimes against humanity in North Korea.
Mapping Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea