Category Archives: LFNKR
Former Street Child Refugee Re-visits Japanese Rescuers
At the end of October, O.C., one of our former North Korean foster children, came to visit us again after 20 years! We met at a Korean restaurant in Tokyo, where we held a party to celebrate the wonderful surprise reunion.
Basic Report on Human Rights Conditions in North Korea
On Feb. 16, Hiroshi Kato, Executive Director of LFNKR lectured on the abuse of human rights in North Korea in response to an invitation by the Working Team for Enhancing Human Rights Diplomacy and International Contribution of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Based on the UN human rights report on North Korea 2014, Mr. Kato’s talk covered the specific human rights abuses still going on in North Korea according to actual experiences of North Korean defectors interviewed by LFNKR. So far, LFNKR has helped over 200 North Korean defectors to reach the destinations where they wished to resettle, including in Japan.
New Year Greetings for 2021
As we begin this momentous new year, I would like to extend our wishes for your good health and prosperity.
A possible solution to the ongoing confrontation with the U.S. over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, missiles, and intercontinental ballistic missiles was discussed at the Singapore summit, but the talks broke down at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi. This setback discourages expectations for an early peace.
World opinion has turned to the economic sanctions on North Korea. In addition to the sanctions, their failure to gain foreign currency has brought deep financial difficulties.
Furthermore, the invasion of the COVID-19 virus has directly hit North Korea as a result of their poor quarantine system. This has led to a total blockade of their border with China. This grave economic failure is further aggravating the human rights violations and starvation in that country.
Although we are all busy fighting the pandemic, I believe that we should not forget the human rights issue in North Korea, which is still unresolved.
In spite of the difficult situation, we at LFNKR remain dedicated to helping the vulnerable and to continuing our human rights and humanitarian aid activities. We deeply appreciate your caring and your continued support.
Kato Hiroshi,
Executive Director of Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR)
3 North Korean Orphans Need Our Help
Our organization, LFNKR, has just received a request for help from three orphans who, until recently, had been living on the street. These children area girl, age 14, and two boys, ages 10 and 8. Currently, they are hiding in China to avoid being found and arrested by Chinese police. We need to lead them out to a safe country as soon as possible.
Below is the request we received from the girl, who speaks for her small group. Here is her story.
This year’s rescue operations
At the annual meeting of LFNKR held on October 14, details of this organization’s rescue operations were reported as follows.
During the past year, LFNKR received requests for rescue from a total of 27 North Korean refugees, 12 being mothers accompanied by children, and 15 being unaccompanied women. LFNKR-led operations resulted in the rescue of 8 adults (5 mothers with their children and 3 unaccompanied women). The rescue operations cost more than USD $20,000. LFNKR is extremely grateful for the donations we received to help these refugees.
Why she had to flee from North Korea
As part of its important activities, LFNKR has been supporting former North Korean defectors who come to Japan and resettle. Ms. Kim SH is one of the defectors whom LFNKR has helped to build up her new career in Japan. In her busy daily life, employed as a medical worker, she frequently provides LFNKR with utmost help in its activities, such as events related to North Korean human rights issue, often as a speaker describing what life is like in North Korea.
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.
Four NK Refugees Safely Rescued
Four Successes
This month (September 2017), LFNKR rescued four refugees from North Korea. Two are the human trafficking victims whom we described in our previous blog post, and the other two are young males, both in their twenties. The two young men began their escape in Foeryong, North Korea. After managing to cross the border, and while hiding in a mountain in China, they luckily encountered a kind ethnic Korean-Chinese man who had come to the mountain hunting for mushrooms. The Korean-Chinese man knew someone who had formerly helped North Korea defectors in Longjin. This connection led to their relocation to safe destinations.
And if you were one of the many donors who helped us to help these refugees, please accept our thanks and the gratitude of the four young people who are free now thanks in large part to your generosity. Thank you.