Joint Assembly of International Lawmakers, NGOs
More Crackdowns in China
The Chinese government continues to intensify its crackdown on North Korean refugees, with an eye to eliminating them before the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Meanwhile, the South Korean government, the first you would expect to protect North Korean refugees, appears increasingly reluctant to accept them.
New Book: A Long Way to Freedom
A Long Way to Freedom is the story of one refugee family’s harrowing journey to safety, from a daring escape out of their own country, North Korea, to years of surviving their way over half a continent.
This is a tale of bravery, great fortune, and also terrible failures and defeat. It is an epic adventure of love, violence, danger, true friendship, and betrayal. But it ultimately ends in success, and a hard earned victory over unbelievable odds.
A Long Way to Freedom – (297 pages, Paperback or PDF)
By Douglas Comish
Lawmaker Proposes Human Rights Law in Japan Diet
Diet member, Masaharu Nakagawa …
… is spearheading a parliamentary bill addressing a number of current problems that Japan faces with its neighbor, North Korea. The bill, sponsored by the Democratic Party of Japan, was officially presented to the House of Representatives on Feb. 25, 2005 under the leadership of Rep. Nakagawa, team leader of the North Korea Issue Project. The Democratic Party is targeting passage of the bill during the current session.
Crisis Looming Over 2008 Beijing Olympics
China Tries Silencing 4 South Korean Lawmakers
Beijing, January 12, 2005 — Four South Korean lawmakers were harassed while attempting to hold a press conference in Beijing (see the lawmakers’ statement below), when the meeting was halted by a group of men in plain clothes who refused to identify themselves.
Protests Held at Chinese Embassy & Consulate in Japan
Journalists Swell the Crowd in Tokyo Demonstration
Actual participants numbered perhaps 30 or so, but with the journalists buzzing around our group, the crowd probably looked larger to the double-handful of guards blocking the gate to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. We were careful to maintain order and obey the laws, but it appeared the embassy staff didn’t want to take chances. The guards remained serious and watchful throughout the protest.
NK Refugee Park Yong-chol Repatriated
NK Defectors Still Being Denied Right to Live
We were shocked to learn a few months ago that Choi Yong (male), a Japan-born North Korean, was executed after being repatriated. He was one of the two Japan-born North Koreans whom Takayuki Noguchi (of our organization) tried to help escape from China in December last year.
LFNKR’s Activities — What We Accomplished in 2004
Current Situation of North Korean Refugees
Recently, the world has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of North Korean refugees who, rather than continuing to hide in China, are choosing to escape to other Asian countries. Escape destinations include Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
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.