Interviews with Kim Kwang-jin

I think the recent UN COI [Commission of Inquiry] report had a huge impact not only globally but on Korean society and the North Korean regime as well.
Because within South Korean society, there was a tendency to evaluate North Korea’s human rights situation based on one’s political orientation.
But the United Nations presented an objective and credible report. I don’t think anyone can deny the result.

[On March 21, 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council established a Commission of Inquiry on North Korea to investigate that country’s human rights abuses. On February 17, 2014, the commission shared its findings in a comprehensive report.]

When we talk about the kind of actions that international communities and the United States can take and the kind of influence international communities and the United States can have on North Korean matters, I think there are two things that can be done.

The first effort would be to deplete Kim Jong Un’s funds that he uses to maintain power and the second would be continuing to spotlight North Korea’s human rights violations.

[Kim Jong Un (1983 – ) assumed power in North Korea after his father’s death in 2011.]

So if the United States and international communities keep on raising the human rights issue, and if China and other countries can take part in this effort, that would be good.

I think spotlighting North Korea’s human rights violations can be a determining factor on changing the North Korean regime. Another thing international communities can do is help rescue North Korean defectors and stop the Chinese government from repatriating North Korean refugees in China.

In September 2003, Kim Kwang-jin and his family rushed to an airport in Southeast Asia to fly to freedom in Seoul, South Korea. Months earlier, Kim lived a privileged life working for the government’s overseas banking operations in Singapore. Then Kim fell out of favor after he was suspected of leaking information about the regime to foreign nationals. Before being summoned back to North Korea face severe punishment, Kim made the decision to defect with his family.

During his banking career, Kim helped earn millions of dollars for what he calls North Korea’s “Royal Court Economy,” i.e., the enterprises and often illegal schemes that financially supported the country’s totalitarian dictatorship.

Since defecting, Kim Kwang-jin helped expose the North Korean government’s underhanded financial practices. He has also become an advocate for North Korean freedom and human rights. Kim currently works at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul and is a columnist for Radio Free Asia.