Latest news with #defectors
NHK
21-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
UN members trade accusations at meeting on human rights situation in N.Korea
Members of the UN General Assembly have traded barbs at a meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea. Some nations contend that the North's human rights violations are closely tied to the country's development of nuclear weapons and its missile programs. At the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, a plenary meeting was held to address human rights abuses and violations in North Korea. Two female defectors from the country were called as witnesses. They took to the podium at the beginning of the meeting and shared their experiences. One woman said that it is better to be shot crossing the Tumen River than to starve in the North. The other defector said that young people have been executed in the country for secretly watching South Korean dramas. The two women suggested that silence is complicity, and they urged the member states to take action. The United States was among the members that criticized the North. It said that unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in North Korea are "inextricably linked to the regime's human rights abuses." It added that the North's actions threaten global peace and security. Japanese UN Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki said, "Japan strongly urges Pyongyang to immediately return all abductees and asks for the international community to unite in a concerted effort to secure their return." North Korea's UN Ambassador Kim Song described the two defectors as "the scum of the earth." He claimed that they do not care about their parents and their families. Kim also said it was "deplorable" that they had been invited to serve as witnesses. A representative from Russia expressed opposition to the UN Security Council's sanctions. The representative described the measures as obstacles to the development of North Korea and the protection of human rights. Russia has been deepening its ties to North Korea.
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘My friends were executed': North Korean defectors tell UN of regime's brutal reality
Eunju Kim, who escaped starvation in North Korea in 1999, only to be sent back and flee a second time, has told the United Nations that the country's leader must be held accountable for gross human rights violations. Gyuri Kang, whose family faced persecution for her grandmother's religious beliefs, fled the North during the Covid-19 pandemic. She told the General Assembly on Tuesday that three of her friends were executed – two for watching South Korean TV dramas. At the high-level meeting of the 193-member world body, the two women, both now living in South Korea , described the plight of North Koreans who UN special investigator Elizabeth Salmón said have been living in 'absolute isolation' since the pandemic began in early 2020 Thousands of North Koreans have fled the country since the late 1990s, but the numbers have dwindled drastically in recent years. Salmón said North Korea's closure of its borders worsened an already dire human rights situation, with new laws enacted since 2020 and stricter punishments, including the death penalty and public executions. Watchtowers are seen along the border between North and South Korea from Paju, 35km north of Seoul. Photo: AFP
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea defectors in SK public sector at record high
There are now more North Korean defectors working in the South's public sector than ever before, Seoul has said. By the end of 2024, 211 North Korean defectors held jobs in the public sector, 17 more than the previous year, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement on Wednesday. That number is the highest since 2010, when North Korean defectors "began to enter the public service in earnest", the ministry said. Seoul has been widening its support for North Korean defectors who struggle with unemployment and social isolation as they adjust to their new lives in the South. "There is a growing need to expand opportunities for North Korean defectors to enter public service so that they can directly participate in and contribute to the government's policymaking," the ministry said. Authorities in Seoul have in recent years intensified social integration programmes. It has also offered financial support and tax incentives for companies who hire North Korean defectors. At an event on Wednesday, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho shared a meal with North Korean defectors in public service roles. There are about 30,000 North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. But defections have waned since the pandemic, which saw countries shut their borders. Before 2020, more than 1,000 North Koreans fled to the South every year. North Korean defectors are denounced by the regime, and rights groups say that those caught escaping to the South are punished with imprisonment and torture. Last July, former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was named the new leader of South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification - the first defector to be given such a high rank in South Korea's government. In 2020, Tae became the first defector to be elected to South Korea's National Assembly. Pyongyang had called him "human scum" and accused him of crimes including embezzlement. The defectors offer a rare look into the highly secretive regime under leader Kim Jong Un. They have told stories of human rights abuses under the regime, including widespread starvation, forced labour and state-enforced disappearances. But many of them face serious challenges as they settle into their new lives: difficulties finding and holding down jobs, social stigma and mental health issues stemming from traumatic experiences in the North.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
North Korea: Record number of defectors working in South's public sector
There are now more North Korean defectors working in the South's public sector than ever before, Seoul has the end of 2024, 211 North Korean defectors held jobs in the public sector, 17 more than the previous year, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement on number is the highest since 2010, when North Korean defectors "began to enter the public service in earnest", the ministry has been widening its support for North Korean defectors who struggle with unemployment and social isolation as they adjust to their new lives in the South. "There is a growing need to expand opportunities for North Korean defectors to enter public service so that they can directly participate in and contribute to the government's policymaking," the ministry in Seoul have in recent years intensified set up social integration programmes. It has also offered financial support and tax incentives for companies who hire North Korean an event on Wednesday, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho shared a meal with North Korean defectors in public service are about 30,000 North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. But defections have waned since the pandemic, which saw countries shut their borders. Before 2020, more than 1,000 North Koreans fled to the South every Korean defectors are denounced by the regime, and rights groups say that those caught escaping to the South are punished with imprisonment and July, former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was named the new leader of South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification - the first defector to be given such a high rank in South Korea's 2020, Tae became the first defector to be elected to South Korea's National had called him "human scum" and accused him of crimes including defectors offer a rare look into the highly secretive regime under leader Kim Jong Un. They have told stories of human rights abuses under the regime, including widespread starvation, forced labour and state-enforced many of them face serious challenges as they settle into their new lives: difficulties finding and holding down jobs, social stigma and mental health issues stemming from traumatic experiences in the North.
