9 Repatriated NK Orphans Face Life or Death
Sent Back by Lao Officials
Back in December 2011, a total of 15 defector youths, all of whom had once been Kot-jebi (homeless street kids), got together for a Christmas party in a hidden shelter in Dandong, China. Most look happy in the photo, but just a year and a half later, their fates have split between heaven and hell.
Stateless Foster Children in China
By LFNKR local staff member in China
A group of typical students study at one of our foster care shelters in China. The shelter is situated near the North Korean border. It is true that the North Korean government provides facilities in each province to accommodate Kot-jebi (homeless street children). However, since the facilities are chronically short of food, many children, driven by hunger, run away to seek food on their own.
Italian News Media Interview NK Refugee in Japan
Italian Mediaset TGCOM24 Seeks Answers
Last month, a major Italian news outlet, Mediaset TGCOM24, contacted LFNKR, requesting an interview with one NK defector (37 years old) who is now resettled in Japan. LFNKR arranged the interview with the defector, whom LFNKR had helped to safely reach and resettle in Tokyo.
CNN Features NK Prison Camp Escapee
Escapee Shin Don-hyuk talks about prison
CNN, in a taped interview, talked with escaped North Korean work camp prisoner, Shin Dong-hyuk. Shin’s life began in near-hopeless circumstances in a NK prison camp. His parents, already interned there, were allowed a “reward marriage” for obedient behavior, but that didn’t last. Shin tells how, at age 14, he witnessed his mother and brother being executed. View part of the interview here.
NGOs Send Open Letter to North Korea’s New Leader Kim Jong-un
Groups Present a United Front
LFNKR hosted on May 7, 2013 a press conference in the Diet Members’ Building in Tokyo, which was attended by representatives from several other NGOs also engaged in the North Korea human rights issue. The event was covered by journalists from NHK, Kyodo News, Mainichi Newspapers, One Korea Daily News, Mindan (Korean Residents Union in Japan) Newspaper, and The Wall Street Journal.
UN Commission to Investigate NK Human Rights Crimes
The efforts of LFNKR, as a member of the ICNK (International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea), have helped lead to establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (COI), which is now ready to begin its investigation. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution establishing on March 21, 2013 a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the grievous human rights violations in North Korea and to determine whether those violations amount to crimes against humanity.
YouTube Video – Death Camp Book Scenes
Warning: Extremely Graphic Scenes of Violence
YouTube footage showing scenes from the book about Chongo-ri Kyo Hwa So (NK Death Camp) can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vasmLxi_2Ew The eight-and-a-half minute, un-narrated video shows scenes of such brutality that only those with strong stomachs should watch what is being done to North Koreans every day.
Book on NK Death Camp Published in Japanese
Many Stories of Wanton Cruelty
Last month, LFNKR published the Japanese-language version of the book ‘Chongo-ri Kyo Hwa So’ for release in Japan. This book contains facts, information and stories from interviews with 8,934 North Korean defectors, including 81 who had been detained at Chongo-ri Kyo Hwa So, more commonly known as the “Death Camp”. Many of the stories include horrifying colored sketches drawn by a few of the former detainees at the Death Camp.