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.
NK Refugee Passes 1st Level Language Exam
Level 1 text for Studying Japanese
Just three years after arriving in Japan, I have passed Level 1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, so I decided to write about my experience in the hope that it might encourage others.
When I arrived at Narita airport, I finally met the person who had worked so hard to get me to Japan. The first words he said to me were, “Why did you want to come to Japan?”. At the time, I could only manage simple greetings in Japanese, and although I could vaguely understand what he was saying, I could not reply in his language.
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.
3000 NK Prisoners Granted Amnesty
News Leaks from North Korea
To celebrate the 100th birthday of Kim Il-sung, North Korea’s first leader, a general amnesty has been declared, and 3,740 prisoners released. Although a few political prisoners were reportedly included, no specific number or names have been disclosed.
NK Defectors Tell About Death Camp 12
Camp 12 Chongo-ri Kyo Hwa So
On February 5, LFNKR hosted a seminar during One World Festival, an annual event held in Osaka, Japan. For the seminar this year, LFNKR invited Mr. Sung-hun Kim, the chief of Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) and three North Korean defectors who have resettled in South Korea. Each of the three defectors has experienced the nightmare of North Korea’s Camp 12 Chongo-ri Kyo Hwa So, a camp well known for its high death rate.
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.
Petition Begun for Rescuing NK Refugees
Refugees Need Immediate Help
Since Feb. 8, more than 30 North Korean refugees have reportedly been arrested and held by Chinese police in Shenyang, Yanji and Changchun. Most of these refugees wish to go to South Korea where their family members have resettled. One of them, a teenage boy, has siblings in South Korea but no other family members in North Korea.