Kim Young-ho: "International Community Solidarity to Bring 'Freedom' to North Korean Residents"

"North Korean Regime Oppressing Residents Ultimately Fails"
'North Korea Human Rights Seoul Forum'... First Time Hosted by Local Governments

Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, compared the fall of the Berlin Wall, which East Germany built to prevent residents from fleeing after World War II, to North Korea, stating, "The international community must unite and move forward together so that the voice of freedom can reach the people of North Korea by overcoming the wall of dictatorship."

Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 2024 North Korean Human Rights Seoul Forum held at Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In a congratulatory speech at the 'Seoul Forum on North Korean Human Rights' hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 11th, Minister Kim said, "German President Steinmeier said on the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's construction in 2021 that 'the Berlin Wall is a testimony to a desperate failure,'" adding, "Any wall erected by the North Korean regime to oppress the North Korean people will ultimately remain as a remnant of failed history."

He continued, "The yearning for freedom is an instinct of all humans and human nature itself," emphasizing, "Human history is an unstoppable wave created by such humanity." He added, "We have already witnessed a great wave," noting, "The harshness of the Cold War could not overcome the East German citizens' desire for freedom, and eventually, freedom came to East Germany."

Minister Kim reiterated, "Now is the time for us to unite for the freedom and human rights of the North Korean people." He also conveyed the significance of the upcoming 'Day of North Korean Defectors' on the 14th being designated as a national memorial day and the contents of the recently published '2024 North Korean Human Rights Report' by the Ministry of Unification, explaining, "(The 14th) is the day the North Korean Defectors Act was enforced and also the day when the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was proclaimed through the French Revolution." He stressed, "We have the obligation to fully restore the human and civil rights realized by humanity 235 years ago to North Korean defectors."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, Julie Turner, U.S. State Department Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, and Elizabeth Salm?n, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea, along with other attendees, are taking a commemorative photo at the 2024 Seoul Forum on North Korean Human Rights held at Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 11th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The event was hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. This is the first time a local government, rather than the central government or academia, has organized a North Korean human rights event. According to Seoul City, the event holds even greater significance as it marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report exposing North Korea's human rights abuses and is held ahead of the first Day of North Korean Defectors on the 14th.

The forum was attended by prominent figures from various fields, including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Lee Shin-hwa, Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Julie Turner, US Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights at the State Department, and Elizabeth Salm?n, UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights. Kim Il-hyuk, a North Korean defector and researcher at the North Korea Research Institute who directly addressed Kim Jong-un at the UN Security Council last August, urging him to "live humanely," also participated as a panelist.

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