Category Archives: North Korea
North Korean Holocaust Exhibition in Seoul
Seoul, Korea
The “North Korean Holocaust Exhibition” was held from November 8 – 10, 2004, at the National Assembly Members Building in Yeoido, Seoul, Korea. This event, the equivalent of an exhibition in the US Capitol, marked the formal launch of this powerful and dramatic depiction of the suffering of the North Korean people.
U.S. Congress Passes Bill to Aid North Koreans
Both houses of the U.S. Congress unanimously passed The North Korea Human Rights Act, then on 18 Oct. 2004, the president signed it into law. It provides useful new tools to help both those who flee the North Korean regime and those who are trapped inside the country.
13-year-old Boy Escapes NK Prison, Relates His Story
Translation of Letter from Young Refugee
The following letter was sent to us by human rights activist Sin-U Nam, who received it by email. He says:
Friends,
I read a terrible story on the Korean websites last night. This is a story of a boy from North Korea, now hiding inside China somewhere. I have read many stories of the NK refugees, but this may be the worst. It made me physically sick.
Asylum Seekers Arrested inside American School
Chinese police take women and children away
On Monday, the 27th of September, 8 North Korean women and children entered the Elementary school building of the Shanghai American School, where school administrators called Chinese Police, then surrendered the refugees to the authorities.
Below is an email our organization received directly from an eyewitness at the school, describing what happened. That message is followed by a statement apparently issued by the school administrator.
North Korea’s Vendetta
Kim Jong Il Retaliates Against Family Members of Public Accuser
FROM: The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea, A Japanese NGO
1. Six North Korean refugees
Six North Korean refugees who escaped from North Korea and were arrested in Shanghai, China were deported to North Korea. The six, who are in mortal danger, are the elder son, the second son and a niece of Mrs. Shin Jung Ae, as well as the second son’s wife and two children.
Int’l Conference on NK Refugees
The First International Planning Conference…
… for the Rescue of North Korean Refugees and Humanitarian Aid Workers hosted by the Japanese and Korean NGO Coalition was held in Tokyo on 18 and 19 July 2004. The two-day Conference, organized by three Japanese NGOs (The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea, RENK, and Life Funds for North Korean Refugees), attracted approximately 100 participants from 9 NGOs and 6 countries.
Boy Spends Life in Hiding, Finally Shot to Death
Chinese Guard Kills NK 17-Year-Old Refugee Right at Mongolian Border
Mid-March 2004 — In his last hiding place. Chol-hun had grown into a fine young man. Three weeks later he was dead.
On April 20 this year, LFNKR received reports that a 20-year-old man was fatally shot when Chinese border guards interrupted an escape attempt by 24 North Korean defectors as they were crossing the border into Mongolia from Manzhouli, China.
Tokyo Demonstration for Hunger Strikers
Hiroshi Kato of LFNKR addresses the Chinese embassy
A demonstration was held at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, by The society to Help Returnees to North Korea, jointly with LFNKR. This demonstration was in response to reports of a hunger strike by North Korean refugees detained in Tumen, who are protesting China’s plan to repatriate them to North Korea.
In addition, a letter addressed to President Hu Jin Tao of China was handed to embassy personnel. The letter requested the release of detained refugees to a third country, as well as the release of humanitarian aid workers still imprisoned in China.