"Kim Jong-un, Live Like a Human" - A North Korean Defector Youth's Accusation at the UN

US, South Korea, and Japan Request... UN Security Council Public Meeting on North Korean Human Rights
Kim Il-hyeok, Student at HUFS... Testifies to Atrocities of the 'Kim Jong-un Regime'
"Oppose the North Korean Regime and Face Forced Labor Until Death in Camps"

A North Korean defector youth exposed the realities of the Kim Jong-un regime and sharply criticized human rights abuses at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Ambassador Hwang Jun-guk to the UN recalled the issue of 'Korean War POWs' who have not returned from North Korea and repeatedly emphasized the principle of prohibiting the forced repatriation of overseas North Korean defectors.

According to authorities on the 18th, on the 17th (local time), Kim Il-hyeok, a North Korean defector youth studying at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, testified as a representative of civil society at an open UNSC meeting held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA. This meeting was convened at the request of South Korea, the United States, and Japan, among others, and it was the first official UNSC meeting on North Korean human rights since late 2017, six years ago.

North Korean defector Kim Il-hyeok is denouncing human rights violations by the North Korean regime at the United Nations Security Council open meeting held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 17th (local time). [Image source=UN Web TV capture]

Kim stated, "North Korean residents have no human rights, no freedom of expression, and no rule of law," and "Those who oppose the regime are taken to political prison camps and suffer forced labor until death." He said he grew up in a small rural village in North Korea and was mobilized for farming work from a young age. After defecting with his family in 2011, he has been actively exposing the realities of human rights abuses in North Korea in South Korea.

He shared that his aunt was subjected to months of torture and beatings in a prison camp because they did not report his and his family's defection to the authorities. He revealed, "When my arrested aunt was taken away, her nephews were only three and five years old." He appealed, "I cannot understand why my actions (defection) forced my aunt and my two young nephews to endure such a fate."

Kim said, "I wholeheartedly pray for the day when North Korean residents can enjoy the freedoms we take for granted." Especially in his final remarks, he spoke in Korean rather than English and directed a sharp message to Kim Jong-un, saying, "Dictatorship cannot last forever." He urged, "Stop committing crimes and start acting humanely now," emphasizing, "North Korean people also have the right to choose a humane life for themselves."

Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook to the UN is speaking at the United Nations Security Council open meeting held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, on the 17th (local time). [Image source=UN Web TV capture]

At the meeting, representatives of each Security Council member state, including Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN, expressed gratitude to Kim for his courageous testimony and voiced strong concern over the human rights abuses by North Korean authorities.

In particular, our Ambassador Hwang Jun-guk emphasized, "The 10 North Korean defectors I recently met all shared special experiences like Kim Il-hyeok," and "We must think about the young people in North Korea who are growing up in a brutally brainwashed society completely cut off from information from the outside world." He added, "What the international community must do is to find ways to give this future generation hope for human dignity and take action."

Furthermore, Ambassador Hwang stressed the resolution of issues related to Korean War POWs, abductees, and detainees, and mentioned the principle of prohibiting the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors residing overseas, including in China. Previously, human rights organizations such as the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) sent an open letter urging our government to raise issues regarding Korean War POWs and the safety of North Korean defectors in China on the UN stage.

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