AKU – Washington hosts commemoration of the first North Korean Defectors’ Day.

Alliance for Korea United – Washington (AKU Washington) organized a special commemoration for the newly established “North Korean Defectors’ Day” on July 14, 2024. More than 100 delegates were joined by ten North Korean defectors in Washington D.C. to kick off a fundraising campaign to build a memorial facility for North Korean residents. Asia Today wrote that the memorial would be “a space for remembrance, prayer, and meditation… a record of the North Korean regime’s atrocities and an opportunity for education for the next generation.”

One North Korean defector shared his experience visiting the Holocaust Museum in the U.S. Capitol, comparing it with the horror he experienced in North Korea. He said that the establishment of a memorial space would serve as an opportunity to record the North Korean regime’s anti-human rights atrocities and educate the next generation. The cost of land purchase and construction is expected to be 1 million dollars (1.38 billion won).

Ambassador Julie Turner, the U.S. State Department special envoy for North Korean human rights, attended the event. She said that the project would create an opportunity to commemorate the North Korean people and publicize the reality of the peninsula as “an important part of the process of responsibility, truth, and reconciliation.” She encouraged the Korean diaspora and North Korean defector community to work together. She fortified the U.S. government’s support for the North Korean defector community and the importance of shedding light on the extreme human rights violations and abuses of the Kim Jong-un regime.

(From left) Ms. Deborah Lim (NK defector in TX), Mr. Jongho Ri, Dr. Suzanne Scholte, Dr. Katy Oh, Dr. Sungyoon Lee, Ambassador Julie Turner, Mr. Hyunseung Lee

Dr. Sungyoon Lee, a former professor at Tufts University and a researcher at the Woodrow Wilson Center, criticized the claims by the North Korean regime that the country’s chronic famine was due to bad weather, climate change, and international sanctions against North Korea. He called out the regime’s frivolous spending of billions of dollars on nuclear and ballistic missile programs and imports of more than 600 million dollars in luxury goods. The researcher pointed out that this is due to a deliberate mass starvation policy that does not use the 200-400 million dollars needed to resolve the annual food shortage of 1.36 million tons.

Speakers praised the establishment of the first North Korean Defectors’ Day, calling it a “fatal blow” to the Kim regime. Jongho Ri, a former high-ranking official of the North Korean Workers’ Party, said, “Nowadays, the number of North Korean residents who view South Korea as an object of envy is increasing, making it difficult for the Kim family to maintain its long-term system.” He stated, “Kim Jong-un will suffer a fatal blow, and hope will arise for the people who yearn for freedom.

AKU Washington President Yusook Kim delivering remarks.

AKU Washington President Yusook Kim called the newly established day far greater than a simple memorial day saying, “It will send a message and be evaluated as a historic event for future generations.”

Read an article about the event in Korean on Asia Today.