Category Archives: North Korean Refugees
Video Reveals Prisoner Beating
Guard beats female prisoner
On September 25, Free North Korea Broadcasting, a South Korean NGO, released footage of a female North Korean defector being beaten and kicked during interrogation on Aug. 17 at a guard post on the China-Korean border. The footage was widely reported by the media the next day, including newspapers and television broadcasters in Japan and South Korea.
Joint NGO-Lawmaker Conference on NK Refugees
Three Days in Tokyo: July 30 ~ August 1, 2005
The Conference, which drew NGOs and activists from around the world, began with two days of presentations and information on North Korean refugees, abductees and humanitarian aid workers detained in China. The conference culminated on the third day with The Second General Meeting of International Parliamentarians’ Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights (IPCNKR).
Daughter Pleads for Help Freeing Her Father
Minister Held in Chinese Prison
Hello, my name is Grace Eunhae Yoon and I am from Seattle, Washington, United States.
It is my honor to be here and I am very thankful for this opportunity to introduce my father to you. I thank Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, its staffs, and Kato Hiroshi San for their support and assistance in every possible way during this conference.
In-Depth Overview of NK Refugee Issues
Tim Peters, Founder, Helping Hands Korea
I am very honored to address this joint conference that brings together a wide range of NGO’s and the Inter-Parliamentarian Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights that includes distinguished representatives of Japan’s House of Councilors and House of Representatives, U.S. Congressmen, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, representatives of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia and the Parliament of New Zealand.
Film “Seoul Train” Screened
Jim Butterworth’s Documentary of Conscience
Thank you very much. First, I would like to thank the IPCNKR for this opportunity to show “Seoul Train” here today, but especially for your outstanding efforts to improve the human rights of North Koreans. It is indeed an honor to be here before such an esteemed audience and alongside other speakers that are truly heroes in this cause.
NK Refugees Being Overlooked
Refugees Overshadowed by 6-Party Talks
The Six-Party talks in Beijing to discuss the elimination of nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula are dangerously close to overshadowing the struggles of five North Korean refugees, whose stories are being dwarfed and in danger of being forgotten. On July 27th, LFNKR received information regarding five North Koreans now seeking to be declared refugees.
China Tries to Stifle Award-Winning Documentary
Director Reveals Secret Censorship Moves by Chinese Government
If China had its way, the documentary film ‘Seoul Train,’ would never be seen at a single international film festival.
Director-producer Jim Butterworth revealed recently that several festival producers had contacted him quietly with news that Chinese embassies were applying pressure to discourage showing of the Seoul Train documentary. The film reveals China’s role in sending North Korean refugees back to face punishment and even execution, and this exposure apparently displeases Chinese authorities.
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.