North Defectors Taeyongho and Jiseongho Criticize "Ceasefire Declaration Talk" as "Submissive and Humiliating Attitude"

Tae Young-ho "Must Urge International Maritime Organization to Pass Resolution Condemning North Korea"
Ji Sung-ho "North Korea Reaches Out Not Only to Its Citizens but Also to Our People"

Tae Young-ho, member of the People Power Party (right), and Ji Seong-ho, member of the same party / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Tae Young-ho and Ji Seong-ho, members of the People Power Party originally from North Korea, strongly criticized the government’s response to the incident in which Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official Mr. Lee (47) was killed by North Korean soldiers and his body mutilated.

Tae, a former North Korean diplomat, wrote on his Facebook on the 25th, "A Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official was killed and his body was even burned, yet the ministry is responding complacently," and insisted, "They must immediately urge the International Maritime Organization to pass a resolution condemning North Korea."

He added, "North Korea would have immediately rushed to the International Maritime Organization if such an incident had happened to them," and pointed out, "It is incomprehensible that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is responding this way when their own employee has died."

The day before (the 24th), Tae also urged the government to take a strong stance, arguing that "North Korea has not changed."

On this day, Tae said, "The reason for a nation's existence is to protect the lives and property of its people. In June, the inter-Korean joint liaison office, which is our people's property, was blown up without a trace, but the government took no effective measures," and added, "This time, our citizen has died. Naturally, those responsible should be reported to the International Criminal Court based on the investigation results."

He emphasized, "Now is not the time to talk about a 'peace declaration,'" and said, "We must face the severe security reality with the enemy right above us and pursue the right policies."

Ji, also from the same party and a defector from North Korea, wrote on Facebook, "North Korea’s human rights violations are no longer confined within North Korea but are now reaching our citizens," explaining, "Following the 2008 shooting of the late Park Wang-ja, this time they directly harmed a government official."

He continued, "While President Moon Jae-in repeatedly emphasized a peace declaration on the Korean Peninsula in his UN General Assembly keynote speech, North Korea committed these anti-human rights acts," and questioned, "Is the response to their overtures the execution of our citizens?"

He strongly criticized, "The government must raise its voice properly against the human rights violations occurring every hour in North Korea to prevent such incidents," and added, "The Minister of Unification is emphasizing inter-Korean cooperation while neglecting human rights issues, which leads to repeated incidents. The government’s submissive and low-profile response is increasing the public’s security anxiety."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.