North Korea Rice Bottle Launch

Twice a month, the current of the waters at the borders flows to North Korea. Yong-Hwa Kim who is heading North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea (탈북난민인권연합) has been launching rice bottles with bible and rice + other items. This video is the 71st launch.

Growing Concern Over Safety of North Korean Defectors

Brian Todd on The Situation Room covers the disappearance of North Korea’s envoy to Italy. Jo Song Gil, Pyongyang’s chargé d’affaires in Rome, disappeared along with his wife in early November.

NKFC Chairman Suzanne Scholte comments on the current climate for defectors and the suppression of human rights activities in Seoul.

North Korean Human Rights on the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

HRNK, PSCORE, NKFC and other North Korean human rights organizations organized a panel discussion on “North Korean Human Rights on the 70th Anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights” on October 24 at UN Headquarter, New York City. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen of USUN Mission delivered the remarks on North Korean human rights and the importance of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and special witnesses, Mr. Jung Kwang-il and Roh Hui-chang presented their experience and current situation in the political prison camp as well as North Korean overseas slave workers.  (SEE FLYER)

SNKR Day 2018 Report

September 24 was Save North Korean Refugees Day, and NKFC members in 25 cities of 11 countries participated to call for China to stop the brutal repatriation policy on North Korean refugees. NKFC members and member organizations held various events, including the conference on North Korean human rights, film screening of “Crossing”, and protest in front of Chinese Embassy. Others sent hundreds of petitions to local Chinese Embassy and Consulate addressed to President Xi Jinping to plea to stop the repatriation policy; in Malawi, Dr. Jones Chamangwana who organized a demonstration in front of Chinese Embassy where dozens of people participated, wrote “Malawi has responded to the call around the world.” And Kris Han in New York City delivered the petition to the Chinese Consulate in New York, and when it was refused, she sat there and protested peacefully. Thank you so much for all of you who have participated and prayed for Save North Korean Refugees Day! (SEE REPORT)

 

 

October Member Announcements and Updates

North Korean defector leaders submitted a written statement to the White House which was drafted by NKFC and FNKR to warn about ongoing inter-Korea peace talk. It was successfully delivered and well received by the White House. (SEE LETTER)

HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatiou wrote an OPED: How Seoul Tacitly Endorses Pyongyang’s Brutality published by the Wall Street Journal about how the current South Korean government is sidelining the human rights issues which is  “akin to surrender” to North Korea. (SEE OPED)

Bruce Bechtol wrote a new book titled North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa: Enabling Violence and Instability. It is the first comprehensive study on how North Korea is spreading turmoil around the world by proliferating the weapons of mass destruction, as well as the financial network the regime is using for money laundering to avoid international sanctions. (SEE FLYER)

NKFC Hosts Kenneth Bae

Special Guest: KENNETH BAE –NKFC was honored to have as its special guest Kenneth Bae. He shared his story about how he delivered the Gospel to people he met in North Korea, not only during his work as a missionary, but also as a political prisoner when he was imprisoned for the accusation of attempting to “overthrow the regime” by “spreading the Christian virus.” He emphasized the importance of information inflow to North Korea because it is the key to bring real change. It is especially important to deliver the Gospel and give them access to the Bible, because Bae said North Korea is an unprecedented case in a way that the name of Jesus has never been known to people, when Pyongyang was at one time called the “Jerusalem of the East” over a hundred years ago. 

He explained that he started the ‘Nehemiah Project’ last year to save and support North Koreans and work for peaceful unification. The Nehemiah Project’s goals are to remember the people of North Korea through a prayer petition campaign, to rescue and protect North Korean refugees in China, especially children whose mothers either died or were repatriated through sheltering them at an orphanage, and to restore and rebuild the hearts and minds of the North Korean defectors who are resettled in South Korea through Nehemiah Global Community Center.  At the Center defectors can participate in prayer meetings, counseling sessions and youth groups. Also, the Nehemiah Project is sponsoring information outreach projects such as rice bottle launches and training North Korean defectors at a mission academy and preparing people for unification. Now more than 3,000 people around the country are praying together for North Korea through the Nehemiah Global Initiative. Those who are interested in and would like to join NGI’s work, please visit http://ngikorea.org/eng for more information.