STATEMENT
Welcome “Free Joseon”!
Since its founding in Sept. 1998, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR) has been actively engaged in rescuing victims of the systematic, widespread and grave human rights violations in North Korea. As one element of our activities, we have, to date, helped approximately 200 North Korean refugees to reach countries where they have started new lives.
After Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was assassinated by VX gas in Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017, a group called “Cheollima Civil Defense” has provided on-going protection for Kim Han-sol, Kim Jong-nam’s eldest son. On March 1, 2019, Cheollima Civil Defense renamed itself to “Free Joseon,” declaring the establishment of a provisional government to prepare the foundation for a future nation built upon respect for the principles of human rights and humanitarianism, holding sacred the principle of manifest dignity for every woman, man and child.
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), the predecessor of Free Joseon, is an NGO with whom we have dedicated ourselves to battle the brutal human rights violations and to rescue North Korean defectors, conducting them to safe countries.
Mr. Adrian Hong, Yale-educated human rights activist, was a co-founder and executive director of LiNK. He was arrested and expelled from China in 2006 for his efforts in helping to arrange the first instance of asylum given to six North Korean refugees by the US. Hong visits us in Japan several times a year for open discussion.
Our executive director, Hiroshi Kato, was arrested and detained in China in October 2002 while arranging to supply winter clothing and food to needy people in North Korea. So Kato, as the leader of LFNKR, has undergone the same harsh, unreasonable treatment as Adrian Hong because of helping North Korean defectors.
Hong told Kato, he has concluded that LiNK’s activities are insufficient to improve ongoing human rights violations in North Korea. He has, therefore, initiated Pegasus Strategies LLC, a strategic advisory firm.
Based on discussions with Hong, LFNKR has come to believe that Hong is sincerely trying to establish a true international network through which more victims of human rights violations can be successfully helped. This is the primary theme of the Free Joseon declaration. Thus, we wish to urge people around the world to fight together for true human rights. We hold that striving to strengthen universal human rights is a common bond that we all can value.
The grave human rights violations in North Korea have continued for decades. Based upon findings in the report submitted by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution in February 2014 condemning human rights abuses and urging the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In recent news, there was a raid on the North Korean Embassy in Spain on March 22, 2019, which caught the world by surprise. Regrettably, most international media have been releasing one-sided comments, typically referring to the group who broke in as a criminal organization. LFNKR feels strongly that the media has an obligation to also cover other, more crucial, information. For instance, what issues led to the raid? Close observers say that this was not just a burglary.
Behind the raid is the clear fact that the North Korean government has long engaged in systematic violations of human rights, including freedom of thought, expression and religion. The regime also sharply limits freedom of movement and residence, and dictates the right to food, as recently reported by the UN Commission of Inquiry.
What upset us all was that some news channels publicly released the names of the group members. Thus, the media have provided information that can be useful for any assassin team dispatched by North Korea’s espionage directorate general. This act of revealing names has the effect of supporting human rights violations, and it should be condemned in the strongest terms. The group Free Joseon has announced that they are involved in the raid, and that they did not murder, injure or torture any of the embassy people. The media’s most important mission is to deliver to the public information based on deeper investigation. LFNKR strongly urges the media to listen to and focus on claims by Free Joseon in addition to the comments by the Spanish government.
As a member of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), LFNKR urges the ICNK organization and the entire global community to redouble our fight against the violators of human rights.
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees
April 6, 2019