Page 15 - NKHR Hawaii Conference 2023

To name a few: the denial of basic needs such as food and information; the suppression of
freedom of expression and movement; political prison camps and even public executions.
Raising a collective international voice to hold North Korean leaders including Kim Jong
Un accountable without impunity is crucial. However, the defensive stance of China
and Russia, which extends to both nuclear and human rights issues, is problematic,
complicating international efforts to address North Korean questions. Listing North
Korean human rights and sharing the stories of those who suf er can be an endless task.

Due to time constraints, I will brief y mention just the three key points.

First, there is a need for “internationalization.” Despite criticism that North Korea itself
is virtually a large prison, this problem, discussed for nearly 30 years since the 1990s, has
often been sidelined due to excessive focus on the country’s nuclear and military threats.
It has been treated as a secondary issue or an issue to be switched on and of as needed.
Furthermore, the lack of progress over a long period has led to a sense of fatigue in the
international community. Additionally, with conf icts and humanitarian crises occurring
around the world, North Korean crises have become forgotten crises in the global media.
To revitalize the North Korean human rights issue it should be addressed as a critically
important problem with a global context rather than focusing solely on North Korea.

Let me give one example where international cooperation is desperately needed. Around
620 people out of 2,000 North Korean escapees in the North Korea and China border
area were forced to be repatriated just one day after the Asian Games was over in early
October 2022. Most of these individuals were women who upon repatriation likely faced
body searches, sexual exploitation, torture and potential lifelong political imprisonment.
T e trauma is particularly severe for those women with children in China, as repatriation
means a painful and unbearable separation for both the North Korean escapee mothers
and their children who are Chinese nationals.

T e actions of China are a clear violation of international humanitarian conventions, such
as the UN Convention against Torture, laws against forced family separation and refugee
law, to which China is also a signatory. More than 1,000 escapees are still believed to be
in Chinese detention, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reporting the risk
of further repatriation.

Currently US Special Envoy Julie Turner and I are preparing a joint statement that
includes the prohibition of punishment by the North Korean regime against these
individuals and the prevention of further forced repatriation by China.

NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS HAWAII CONFERENCE 2023 15