Category Archives: Defectors
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
Visit to North Korean Refugees Detained in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
The following is an excerpt from our recent news release:
From Jan. 14 to 19 in 2018, LFNKR survey group (led by executive director, Mr. Hiroshi Kato) visited the Thai-Lao border along the Mekong River to gather accurate, updated information on the escape route of North Korean refugees and conditions in the local areas.
Another success story
In Japan right now, the cherry blossoms are at their peak as they usher in a new spring time. It’s the time of new beginnings.
Companies hire new employees in the spring, and the new school year starts in April.
No Christmas Presents for North Korean Refugees?
While we enjoy our rich and exciting Christmas holidays, most North Koreans live in constant hunger.
As we know, it’s easy to be generous with those nearest us. Far away, on the other side of the world, however, there are many tragic stories of starvation and fear.
Day Dedicated to Saving North Korean Refugees
September 22 was World “Save North Korean Refugees” Day
LFNKR sent out Letters of Petition to the Chinese embassy and all the consulates in Japan, urging China’s president Xi Jinping to provide to North Korea refugees who escape into China fair treatment according to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a document which China signed and ratified on September 24, 1982.
Why one young lady escaped from North Korea
On May 12, 2017, Yong-mee Lee was invited to Tokyo University to present a speech to the students.
Yong-mee Lee is one of the North Korean refugees whom LFNKR (Life Funds for North Korean Refugees) has helped to safely reach Japan and resettle here. We are very happy to see the growing number of resettled North Korean refugees now helping LFNKR. They are actively participating in our activities to raise awareness of the difficulties still faced by the North Korean people. The following speech was presented by Yong-mee Lee.
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.
URGENT APPEAL FOR MR. CHOI MYUNG-BOK (RUSSIA)
Russia Set to Deport NK Refugee
LFNKR faxed petitioning letters to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in France, the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, and related human rights groups asking to save the life of a North Korean refugee named Choi Myung-bok.
Mr. Choi was recently arrested by police in Russia, and the court’s ruling on his deportation is scheduled to be handed down on 10 February.