Category Archives: Public Awareness
LFNKR in Joint Protest of NK Nuclear Blast
Joint Protest Held in Tokyo
North Korea conducted yet another nuclear test blast on Feb. 12. The North Korean regime is obviously escalating its clear threat to international peace and security. In response, on Feb. 13, LFNKR joined other Japanese NGOs that have an interest in North Korean human rights issues in public protests against the nuclear test. The protest was held in front of the Tokyo Headquarters of The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. The General Association functions as North Korea’s de facto embassy in Japan.
Intern Gains Experience with LFNKR
Report by LFNKR’s Lobbying Intern
Becoming an intern with one phone call
My name is Yuzuru Sakaguchi, and I have been an intern with LFNKR since August 1st. I came to Tokyo from Nagano, and I am currently living on my own in the city. In the summer of my second year of high school I started studying the Korean Peninsula, because I was moved by a sense of wanting to see justice accomplished and that, “something must be done.…” I still vividly remember feeling appalled as I watched exclusive footage of North Korea on television, and even now that sense of wanting justice remains in my heart.
North Korea’s Latest Launch Condemned
Squandering National Resources
This organization, (Life Funds for North Korean Refugees) strongly protests the missile-launching test that North Korea carried out on Dec. 12, 2012. According to reports, this launch was yet another test of banned ballistic missile technology.
Flying Snack Cakes for Freedom
LFNKR, working jointly with several South Korean NGOs, launched last month 20 large balloons into the skies above North Korea to carry 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of Choco Pies, along with a total of 3,000 leaflets. The site chosen for launching the balloons was Ganghwa Island, a site very close to NK. The island is located in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea.
9th Annual NK Freedom Week Starts Sunday in Seoul
The 9th annual North Korea Freedom Week starts this Sunday in Seoul, while a simultaneous NK Freedom Week event will also be held in London. Many of the events in Seoul are being led by North Korean defectors who had participated in the NKFW during the first six years it was held in Washington, D.C.
NK to Launch a Rocket Soon
Since its founding in 1998, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR), a Japanese citizen’s group, has devoted itself to supplying food, clothing, and medical goods directly to starving North Korean people.
After nearly 14 years of continuing efforts, we still see no improvement in the food shortage, nor a reduction in human rights violations in North Korea. The outflow of people desperate enough to flee their fatherland for other countries has not abated.
China’s Yanbian Province Changing
LFNKR Staff Member Visits Yanbian, China
For the first time in more than ten years, I visited China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Recently, China has undergone remarkable economic development, and its impact has reached even China’s northeastern region of Yanbian. From my previous visit, I recall low-rise buildings scattered about and old Soviet-made cars on dilapidated roads.
Sending in the Choco Pies
Help Send Choco Pies of Love for Valentine’s Day
Choco pies have become the most famous snacks among North Korean workers in Kaeson Industrial Park (see details below), but outside this one limited area, the rest of North Korea has little idea of the everyday luxuries available to the rest of the world.