STATEMENTS FROM THE DECEMBER 5 & 6, 2008 EVENTS

2008 SEOUL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE

Welcome. Thank you for coming out today to stand up for the North Korean refugees and call upon Hu Jintao to stop his deadly partnership with Kim Jong-il which has led to the deaths of hundreds of North Korean refugees. We simply are asking Hu Jintao to honor the international agreements China has signed and instead work with the international community especially the governments of South Korean and the United States who want to help resolve this issue humanely and peacefully with full respect for China’s territorial integrity.

We have been staging these protest for many years – I believe since 2001 – and yet China has not changed its policy and today the situation is even worse. We may ask ourselves why do we continue? Because we must stand up for the North Korean people. As one of our North Korea Freedom Coalition Vice Chairman Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center has pointed: if you are silent in the face of atrocities, it suggests your acquiescence.

We also know that because of Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, New Tang Dynasty television, Free North Korea Radio and other media covering these events that what we do today and tomorrow will be heard by the refugees and the jailed humanitarian workers.

We know for example that the very act of being here will save lives. Two woman Ma Soon Hee and Cha Kyong Sook told me that when they were sold in China along with their daughters they thought about committing suicide - they were so broken, crushed and demoralized from the horrors they were enduring. But what kept them alive was the desire to find their daughters and what gave them hope was hearing that people like you were standing in front of the Chinese embassy demanding that Hu Jintao stop repatriating the refugees.

We know for example that humanitarian worker Kim Hee Tae who was jailed in China for helping North Korean refugees was beaten and broken and in despair. But he heard his name called out in front of the Chinese embassy when he was listening to RFA. Just by hearing his name he knew we were standing up for him and it gave him the hope to stay alive.

In our letter that we are sending to Hu Jintao, we are asking for him to stop these brutal repatriations but we are also asking for the release of Kim Hui Sung, Hong Jin Hee, Kim Heung-Gyun, and Oh Young-Sun. The four men are in prison today because they were caught in China trying to help North Korean refugees. These four men are defectors from North Korea who had already safely resettled in South Korea. But rather than get on with their lives in security and freedom in South Korea, they chose to go back to China and rescue their brothers and sisters.

In any free nation in the world, in any nation that has respect for human dignity, these men would be honored for their selfless sacrifice and love for humanity. But in China, they are in jail.

Today, you will hear from one such man – Steve Kim, who also gave up security and freedom and was jailed in China simply because he could not look the other way when he saw the horrible things that were happening to the North Korean refugees in China.

Because this is the season of Christmas, and we know Americans will be spending money on products Made In China – we are asking that they not forget the horrible abuse of the North Korean refugees and that they offset their Christmas purchases by supporting the work of people like Steve Kim and Phillip Buck in saving the lives of North Korean men, women and children.

Also, we will read THE list – of those refugees whose lives were in danger and they were seized by the Chinese and forced back to North Korea. The precious lives of each one of these North Koreans are the responsibility of Hu Jintao – and we will keep their names alive and before us until there is a full accounting for them.

Thank you for being here today.

STATEMENT OF STEVE KIM OF 318 PARTNERS MISSION

(December 5, 2008 and Dec. 6)

Today I came here to testify about what I had seen at the Chinese prison while I was there. As you all know, I had been arrested in 2003 by Chinese police officers for helping NK refugees to S. Korea. They handed me a 5 year sentence for helping NK refugees who fled from the country which had no Human Rights.

I had been through 3 different prisons. When I was locked in the 2nd prison, which was called Chang Chun “Tiebe” prison, I saw over 100 more NK refugee prisoners. They were locked for many different reasons, like other Chinese inmates. However, many of them were wrongfully sentenced. Because of this unbearable torture done by Chinese police officers, they had to confess to the police as they wanted.

In the 2nd prison, I had two NK refugee prisoners in my early Morning Prayer group. Sungnam Park and Youngjin Chung, both came from Hye San City in Yang Gang Do. They were 30 and 29 years of age. They just got out of their 13 year long Military service. When I first met them in 2005, they had a 14 and 15 year sentences for stealing Ginseng Roots near the Yalu River. They didn’t use trucks or any vehicles, but only stole a handful of ginseng roots. By the court paper, it was worth only less than $300. But the Chinese court handed them 14 and 15 year sentences. This is how they were cruel. Why was there such a long sentence for this simple theft? Because, they needed young laborers at no cost in their gulag prison camp. Youngjin was assigned to the Arts & Crafts factory, making the hand painted small boats.

Another NK refugee prisoner, Kyung Il Kim, who is in the list of what we are reading today, had been arrested in 2003 because of gathering NK refugees to send them to S. Korea. While waiting, he led Bible Study class for them. He was sentenced for 12 years. This is what China is doing to most of NK refugee prisoners.

Then what happened to those arrested and locked in prison? Chang Chun Tiebe prison has about 23 units. Each unit has about 100 to 150 inmates. Each unit has their own factory, producing one kind of goods. The prison system In China is different from us. The Chinese government wouldn’t provide prison full expenses but only 50%. For the other half, the Prison had to generate on their own. They use many different kinds of tricks. They sell prisoners some privileges. If you have money, then, your life is very easy in prison. But if you don’t, you have no privileges. With the money, you could get any thing from outside.

Then what happened to the healthy young inmates in the prison? They have to work from early in the morning till late night. I saw them leaving to work at 8:00 am then returning around 9:30 pm. Sometimes they had to work on Sundays too. They make various kinds of goods, clothing, electronic goods, toys, arts & crafts, packed paper tissues and so on. I even heard from a Korean inmate, transferred from Tianjin to Beijing prison that he had made the McDonald’s hamburger boxes for Big-Mac.

Then how much would they get paid? Nothing. They are paid only RMB 5 yen ($0.8) a month. This wouldn’t even cover the cost of their toilet paper. Instead they would get some meat in their meal when they work overtime. So some inmates were washing clothes for other Chinese inmates making $ 0.80 per wash. I heard there was even prostitution among the inmates.

No human rights existed for NK refugees in the prison. No one could get in to the prison, so no one knows what’s going on in there.

I came here to condemn China for their slave like treatment to our brothers in prison. I urge them to stop pushing them to do slavery labor without payment. We all know that many of our NK sisters are sold by the hand of Chinese human traffickers. But they are not the only one. Chinese government does the same. Do you know every inmate being sold to the prison? I was sold to Tiebe prison for $120 (RMB 800). Every Detention House gets paid when they deliver inmates to the prison. So China itself is the country of Human Trafficking, not only individuals but also the prison, Government authorized official place.

I urge them in front of you.

Stop buying and selling inmates!

Stop making gulag products forcing my brothers as profit taking slaves!

Pay them properly for their labor!

Don’t be Exploitation!

Thank you!

318 Partners Mission

Steve Kim

STATEMENT OF SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK

I want to thank you all for standing in solidarity with the North Korean refugees, and for protesting China's immoral and illegal treatment and repatriation of the thousands of North Korean refugees in China.

China continues to repatriate North Korean refugees and imprison humanitarian aid workers in flagrant violation of its commitments under the UN Convention on Refugees. Moreover, the United Nations has done little to assist in the plight of the refugees.

The promises that the Chinese government made to the world before the Beijing Olympics—to open up and to take responsibility for the people inside China’s borders—those promises now ring hollow as the North Korean refugees are as vulnerable as ever, being hunted down and repatriated. The situation is too grave; the timeline of the Chinese government and the United Nations too slow. Now is the time for action on behalf of those the without a voice so that they may have a chance to live a life of freedom.

I commend the organizers of this event, the North Korea Freedom Coalition, and its members around the world and the organizers here in Washington, D.C., Suzanne Scholte, Hyun Song, Hyoju Kim, Pastor Heemoon Lee, Sin U Nam, Jeff Park, and the Youth for Truth: Nancy Purcell, Taylor Purcell and Taliah Kurylak. We call on the Chinese government to do what is right and to lift the veil of darkness, hunger, and fear from upon the North Korean refugees."

STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM COBURN

Dear Chairman Scholte,

I am honored to support the North Korea Freedom Coalition and the North Korean refugee community as you stand in prayer and petition on behalf of the millions of people who are suffering under the brutal regime of Kim Jong-Il. Even without a nuclear arsenal, North Korea would still be a dangerous regime responsible for the deaths of at least two million people by government engineered famine, politically motivated executions, or because they dared to try to escape to South Korea through China. With up to 200,000 political prisoners, forced labor and concentration camps, and arbitrary torture and detentions, North Korea is one of the worst human rights abusers on the planet.

Sadly, there has been too little help from the world community for North Koreans trying to escape from this outpost of tyranny. Attempts to flee are regularly thwarted by the People’s Republic of China who forcibly repatriates refugees, even though they face torture and execution upon their return. The United Nations has been of little help by refusing to intervene and hold China accountable for its obligations under the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Even the U.S. State Department, during the past two administrations, has placed North Korea human rights and refugee assistance in the back seat to diplomatic talks that have borne no fruit.

During this Christmas season, I join with you in praying for the suffering people of North Korea that the gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, endowed to us all by our Creator, will no longer be stolen by the regime of Kim Jong-Il. I pray that the leaders in the People’s Republic of China would begin to show kindness and offer assistance to refugees seeking a path to freedom. I pray that wisdom and compassion return to the halls of the United Nations and the U.S. State Department, so that human life is never again sacrificed on the altar of appeasement and dead-end diplomacy.

Sincerely,

Tom Coburn, M.D.

U.S. Senator

STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

Ranking Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs

Day of Prayer and Protest for North Korean Refugees

Dear Friends:

Even though I am unable to attend in person, I am honored to join with you today in remembrance of the countless suffering North Koreans. I am deeply grateful for the years of tireless work by the North Korea Freedom Coalition, its member organizations, and its supporters.

Thanks to your voices, the world can no longer claim ignorance of the privations and torture that the people of North Korea suffer under the brutal Kim Jong Il regime. As we know, those degrading and life-threatening conditions have forced many to flee into neighboring China, where they are abused, trafficked, exploited, hunted, and forcibly returned to their torturers.

The Chinese regime’s treatment of these refugees is criminal. It makes a mockery of the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, which China has signed, and is a stain upon the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on whose Executive Committee China sits.

The Chinese regime must immediately stop repatriating North Korean refugees. The threat of torture, imprisonment, and even death that these refugees face upon their forced return is well-documented and undeniable.

I also call upon the other nations of the world -- including our own -- to do more to protect these refugees. To date, the international response has been too slow and too weak.

I am pleased with the bipartisan Congressional commitment that resulted in the passage of my North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act, which was enacted two months ago. The new law will extend and strengthen the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and hopefully will help to realize some of the unfulfilled hopes that motivated these important Congressional initiatives, particularly in the area of refugee protection and admissions, which have not been as robust as Congress intended.

I respectfully urge the incoming Administration to use these expanded tools to better protect North Korean refugees and help them begin new lives in freedom.

I thank you for this opportunity to express my solidarity with your peaceful protest today, and to join you in praying for the people of North Korea.

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN TRENT FRANKS

December 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Perhaps nowhere in the world is human freedom under more constant onslaught than under the brutal regime of Kim Jong-Il in North Korea. As we enter this Christmas season, it is important that we not forget those who are suffering without hope and struggling for their lives in North Korea. It is crucial for us in America to remember that the unspeakable gift of freedom also confers on us the responsibility to aid the oppressed victims of injustice and totalitarianism, including those of North Korea. These individuals have never experienced the basic human rights and freedoms we take for granted - the freedom to associate, to speak freely, and to worship according to the dictates of one's own conscience.The plight of the innocent North Korean people is a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude, and one that will forever mar the history of the human family. There are at least 12 political prisons and about 30 forced labor and labor education camps within North Korea. The communist regime utilizes forced labor, concentration camps, and arbitrary detentions, and routinely practices the severest forms of human rights violations including torture and political executions. Additionally, an unbelievable four million North Koreans have died of starvation since 1995 as a result of government engineered famine. Despite its obligations to the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the People's Republic of China continues to forcibly repatriate North Korean refugees and humanitarian aid workers to North Korea, knowing such action means torture, imprisonment, and often death for those refugees. It remains absolutely incumbent on us to stand in solidarity with North Koreans, and to reiterate through peaceful means that China's repatriation policy must end, and North Korean refugees allowed access to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations willing to assist in their protection.I am deeply honored for the opportunity to stand in support of the beleaguered North Korean people, and to acknowledge the years of tireless advocacy on their behalf by the North Korea Freedom Coalition and its member organizations. I honor each one of you for making the sacrifices to take part in today's protest on behalf of North Korean refugees.With our continuing efforts and by the grace of God, we look forward to a day when North Korea will join America as a nation that honors and upholds human dignity, and when the long-suffering people of North Korea will themselves walk in the sunlight of human freedom.Thank you and God bless you all.Sincerely,Congressman Trent Franks

STATEMENT OF HWANG JANG-YOP

(Highest Ranking NK Govt Official who has defected from NK)

China, honor the U.N. resolution to stop repatriating NK refugees!

It has been almost ten years since the international community demanded Chinese government to acknowledge the North Koreans in China as political refugees and stop repatriating them.

From 2003 through 2005, the U.N. General Assembly passed resolutions three times regarding the North Korean human rights violations. The United Nations Third Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural issues, on November 22nd approved a draft resolution calling for improvement in human rights conditions in North Korea, initiated by South Korea, the European Union, Japan and 48 other countries.

The U.N. resolutions emphasized imprisonment at the political prison camps, hard labor, public executions, and human trafficking of North Korean citizens and the defectors in China systematically and widely perpetrated by the dictatorial regime of Kim Jong-il in North Korea. The human rights violations against the defectors were due to the inhumane policy of repatriation by the Chinese government.

Regarding repatriation of the North Korean refugees, the international community asked China to observe and honor the 1951 Refugee Conventions of which China is a signatory. The international community asked China not to classify the refugees as economic migrants but accept and grant them political refugee status.

However, China even today arrests and repatriates these refugees. They are in serious violation of the Refugee Conventions.

This is not just a local problem or an issue for the North Korean refugees. China cannot and should not decide this issue by herself. Human rights has no border. It is an obligation, universal and international. There should be no difference for big and small countries.

Furthermore, China is a permanent member of U.S. Security Council. They should be an example to abide by and honor the international agreement and principles. China should stop ignoring the issue of North Korean refugees, and stop repatriating them.

Sending the North Koreans back to North Korea means death to them. China cannot hide under the so-called security treaty with North Korea. They should protect the human rights of these refugees, and stop their inhumane policy of repatriation.

China must honor and coordinate with the offices of UNHCR and UN Human Rights Committee. China should let UNHCR meet and interview the North Korean refugees freely. China must let go these refugees to whichever country they want to go to live free.

December 5, 2008

Hwang Jang-yop, Chairman, North Korean Democracy Committee