Category Archives: Rescue Operation
Join us to help 3 North Korean refugees
On July 24, LFNKR received urgent requests for help from three North Korean women, who are the victims of human trafficking. Here are brief descriptions of their backgrounds:
Ms. K.H., 36 years old, from Kilju in North Hamgyeong Province
When I was 20, my life was difficult so I crossed over into China but was sold into prostitution
Mother and Baby Reach Freedom
Good News – our most recent escapee, Ms. Lee (24 years old) and her 9-month-old baby, have finally reached safety.
Ms. Lee, originally from Ryanggang Province, was a victim of human trafficking. Like most of the victims who become ensnared in human trafficking in China, she fled
Mother & son wait 16 years for reunion
We reported, back in September, the LFNKR rescue team had successfully brought four North Korean refugees out to safe havens. One of these is Mr. Kim, who turned 22 while at a temporary holding center in Thailand.
After completing all the legal procedures, he finally arrived in Japan on Dec. 8. Awaiting him at Haneda Airport, together with the LFNKR members, was his mother, who eagerly greeted him on his arrival.
Freed from Bondage
LFNKR is glad to report that, on Oct. 2, Kim Un-suk (not her real name), a North Korean woman, age 30, reached a safe place where she no longer has to fear repatriation.
Three years ago, Un-suk was sold by a human trafficker to a Chinese man in Harbin. He and his whole family kept her under constant watch to prevent her running away. She was not allowed to go out of his house, not allowed to do anything (except making a baby). She was utterly confined and given no freedom. She said she felt like a bird held in a cage.
LFNKR rescue staff had to patiently wait for the right moment to rescue the mother and her baby, and to lead them to a safe place. Mother and child will soon be resettled safely in South Korea.
We sincerely thank you for all the assistance you’ve given.
Four NK Refugees Safely Rescued
Four Successes
This month (September 2017), LFNKR rescued four refugees from North Korea. Two are the human trafficking victims whom we described in our previous blog post, and the other two are young males, both in their twenties. The two young men began their escape in Foeryong, North Korea. After managing to cross the border, and while hiding in a mountain in China, they luckily encountered a kind ethnic Korean-Chinese man who had come to the mountain hunting for mushrooms. The Korean-Chinese man knew someone who had formerly helped North Korea defectors in Longjin. This connection led to their relocation to safe destinations.
And if you were one of the many donors who helped us to help these refugees, please accept our thanks and the gratitude of the four young people who are free now thanks in large part to your generosity. Thank you.
3 Young Women Trapped by Human Trafficking
Join Our Rescue Mission!
LFNKR has so far helped more than 200 North Korean refugees escape to safe destinations where they’ve been able to start new lives.
Earlier this week, we received urgent requests from three desperate North Korean women in China. They are all in their early thirties, victims of human trafficking. Two of them had been sold to extremely poor Chinese farmers in Hebei.
Another 5 still waiting for help
On February 13, the world was rocked by news that Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean Leader, Kim Jong-un, had been assassinated using VX, a highly toxic liquid nerve agent, at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia. The Sunday Express (British online newspaper), in its March 12 issue, reported that Kim Jong-un is also thought to have personally ordered the assassination of a British national and an American in retaliation for assisting Thae Yong-ho, formerly North Korea’s deputy ambassador to London, when he defected to the West in August last year.
You have just saved another life
Your donations do make a difference
Your support has enabled us to save a 27-year-old North Korean refugee. On February 23, LFNKR successfully completed the rescue mission to bring Mr. Y.Y. out of China to a safe place.
It has been your generous support and donations that made it possible for him to even dream of freedom.
Five more remaining people still await their chance for rescue. We are thankful for your concern for these people living at risk. If you would like to donate to help these five to reach safety, please click through to our donation page.
With sincere thanks,
Hiroshi Kato, Director of LFNKR