North Korean defectors lay a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C.
The following is an excerpt from an article by An Jun-ho for Voices of America. Nine North Korean defectors joined the 71st-anniversary commemoration of the Korean War armistice agreement and paid tribute to the veterans who died to protect freedom and democracy. The event was held at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. and attended by some 200 people, including Korean War veterans and their families, former Commander of U.S. Forces Korea John Tilally, and Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong.
Hyunseung Lee, a researcher at the Global Peace Foundation who attended the event that day, said, “I decided to pay my respects to the veterans and their families who shed blood to protect freedom and democracy in a country they knew nothing about,” adding, “I was also a North Korean soldier, but I decided to pay my respects so that we could all share in the pain and pay tribute to their sacrifices.”
The researcher is the son of Ri Jeong-ho, a former high-ranking official in Room 39 of the North Korean Workers’ Party, and worked in the Operations Bureau of the General Staff Department of the North Korean People’s Army.
The researcher also said, “North Korea also has a Korean War Memorial, but while it is meant to honor Kim Il-sung alone, this one has the names of each and every veteran engraved on it, which is in contrast to North Korea.”
The defectors are part of the North Korean Young Leaders Assembly, which convenes in Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia to share their stories and meet with policymakers to help shape policy in Korea and the United States. They aim to raise awareness of the human rights crisis in North Korea and prepare the international community for a future when their countrymen can be free. The assembly participated in a forum hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy under the theme, “Preparing a Democratic Future for North Korea: Next Generation Leadership.”
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