YouSaid · the spoken record

Ilhyeok Kim

lines on the record
5
first
2023-08-17
most recent
2023-08-17
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “If we all do what we can to guarantee the rights and freedom of North Korean people, in the future we will be able to proudly say that we did the right thing. Until that day comes, I urge the Council to continue to care about the North Korean people, to continue to discuss the human rights of North Koreans and to work to overcome the North Korean Government’s physical and digital self-isolation so that the people of my homeland can see, hear and feel the vast and wonderful world that lies outside their borders. Lastly, I want to say something to the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in our language. It means: “No tyranny lasts forever. We North Koreans also have the right to choose lives of dignity for ourselves — therefore, stop committing such crimes against our people and choose the path of humanity.””

    2023-08-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9398 (2023) · source

  2. “On that day, all North Koreans will be able to travel to the rest of the world and meet the people from Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Russia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Albania, Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Gabon and Ghana, and will be able to work together for world peace and a better future for humankind. On that day, the people of those countries will come to know the true character and potential of the people of my homeland. Nine years ago, Ambassador Oh Joon of the Republic of Korea addressed the Council and said: “We only hope that one day in the future, when we look back on what we have done today, we will be able to say that we did the right thing for the people of North Korea” (S/PV.7353, p.21).”

    2023-08-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9398 (2023) · source

  3. “North Korea’s secret police found out and arrested, tortured and beat her for several months because she did not report our escape. My aunt ended up in a political prison camp for the supposed crime of not reporting her older brother’s family. At that time, she had a five-year-old son and a three-year- old daughter. She was forced to say her last goodbye to her beloved children. I cannot understand how my aunt and two cousins could have deserved that fate. I desperately hope that those inhumane things will stop happening in North Korea. I hope with all of my heart that the day when all North Koreans can enjoy the same freedom that we take for granted will come one day soon, just as I now have the freedom to come here and address the Council.”

    2023-08-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9398 (2023) · source

  4. “We used to think that the money spent on just one missile could feed us for three months, but the Government does not care. It is concerned only with maintaining its power, developing nuclear weapons and creating propaganda to justify its actions. Even with such hardship, North Koreans cannot express any dissatisfaction to their Government. Our people have no human rights, no freedom of expression and no rule of law. Anyone who disagrees is taken to a political prison camp, where they will do hard labour until they die or are simply shot dead. The North Korean Government has eradicated basic human rights from my homeland. When my family left North Korea to go to South Korea, my father’s sister knew we were leaving and said goodbye to us.”

    2023-08-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9398 (2023) · source

  5. “Mr. Ilhyeok Kim: My name is Ilhyeok Kim. I was born and raised in a small village in North Korea. Owing to my country’s poverty, I was forced to do unpaid labour from a young age. When I should have been studying hard, instead I was soaked with sweat while planting and harvesting crops. Most of that grain went to the military, and all we were left with was the worry of what we could eat that winter. Extreme pandemic restrictions have made the lives of North Koreans harder than ever. We also face a reign of fear that isolates North Koreans and harshly punishes people just for accessing foreign information. Even when we starve, the North Korean Government has no policy to help us. The Government turns our blood and sweat into a luxurious life for the leadership and missiles that blast our hard work into the sky.”

    2023-08-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9398 (2023) · source