Most North Korean defectors that the new government's decision to halt broadcasts to North Korea destroys the only opportunity for 25 million North Korean citizens to hear the truth.
Many conservatives and Christians in South Korea have also expressed deep concern, fearing that the new government is disregarding the human rights and access to information of North Koreans and, as with previous pro-North Korean Moon Jae-in regimes, is acting solely in favor of dictator Kim Jong-un.
Defector Lee Min-bok, civic group 'Ol-inmo', and lawyers’ group 'Hanbyun' in South Korea have filed a lawsuit challenging the Lee Jae-myung administration’s suspension of broadcasts to North Korea as unconstitutional.
Jihyun Park is a survivor of human trafficking and forced labour camp who escaped North Korea twice: the first time, she was arrested in China and sent back to face torture and imprisonment before escaping again. Now based in England, she helps North Korean refugees in the UK to rebuild their lives, and campaigns for the rights of all North Koreans to live without fear of torture and persecution. / Photo = FREEDOMCHOSUN
Freedom Chosun interviewed Park Ji-hyun, a North Korean defector residing in the UK, to ask her views on this issue. Park received the Amnesty Brave Awards in the UK in 2020 for her efforts to expose the human rights situation in North Korea and China.
Park : The unilateral suspension of broadcasts to North Korea by the new governments has blocked the only small channel of light reaching 25 million North Korean people living in darkness.
As one of the countless North Korean women who suffered horrific human trafficking in China, I earnestly appeal to the Lee Jae-myung government to immediately reverse their unilateral decision to halt broadcasts to North Korea.
Inter-Korean dialogue, humanitarian exchanges, and peaceful cooperation—all sound good. But if those are truly the goals, then the Lee Jae-myung administration must first ask Kim Jong-un:
– Why are you closing your borders?
– Why are you blocking information from the outside world?
– Why are you denying free broadcasting, confiscating radios, and treating possession of USB drives as a capital offense?
– Why are you preventing North Koreans from traveling freely?
– Why can’t you invite South Koreans to the recently opened Wonsan Kalma resort?
– Why are you refusing to hold reunions for families separated between North and South Korea?”
The suspension of broadcasts to North Korea by the new governments of South Korea and the United States is silencing the very voices that the North Korean people desperately need.
As a defector born and raised in North Korea, I would say this is "the first freedom we are losing."
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) prepares to sign the guest book next to his sister Kim Yo Jong during the Inter-Korean summit with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (L) at the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom, April 27, 2018.
KOREA SUMMIT PRESS POOL/AFP/Getty Images
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, stated that South Korea remains an “enemy” to the North despite Lee Jae-myung government’s recent attempts to ease tensions.
Kim emphasized that North Korea “has no interest” in negotiations with South Korea, regardless of any proposals that might be put forward.
She said recently through the North's state-run KCNA(Korean Central News Agency) that the U.S. must accept the new reality.
Kim stressed that since Trump's first term, both North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and the geopolitical environment have changed dramatically.
She added that the personal relationship between the Trump and Kim Jong-un is not bad.
But she warned that if the U.S. intended to use this relationship as a step toward denuclearization, it would only be regarded as "mockery" to the North.
Freedom Chosun also asked Park about her thoughts on the involvement of over 10,000 North Korean troops in the Ukraine war, supporting Putin's Russia.
Park : I think many people in South Korea do not fully understand why Europe is so sensitive about the war in Ukraine.
However, Europe experienced two world wars in the 20th century.
Therefore, Europeans are well aware of the dangerous nature and origins of Russian totalitarianism, which could ultimately trigger a third world war, as well as Putin’s long-standing tactics to divide Western Europe and the United States.
North Korea vows 'full support' for Russia in Ukraine during Putin visit. / Photo = KREMLIN / VIA FREEDOMCHOSUN
The full-scale emergence of the “Axis of Neo-Totalitarianism”—a coalition of North Korea, Russia, and China—is not merely a problem for one country or a conflict in one region. It is a serious threat to the entire free world of the 21st century and a direct challenge to the universal values of humanity.
Full Text (Korean) : [Special Interview] North Korean Human Rights Activist in the UK ①: Park Ji-hyun, Winner of the 2020 Amnesty Brave Awards
http://fcs.news/View.aspx?No=3764723
※ This article was translated into English with the assistance of ChatGPT. If you find any errors, please contact the Freedom Chosun editorial team at shiholee0222@gmail.com