NK Defectors in SK spoke up

February 12, 2007

Declaration by North Korean Defectors in South Korea on the 6-Party Talk Agreement:

All of us, North Korean defectors in South Korea, feel completely betrayed by the sham 6-party talk agreement.

Those of us, North Korean defectors in South Korea, ten thousand strong, who escaped the brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong-il, feel more than disappointed watching the outcome of the so-called 6-party talk in Beijing. We feel nothing but betrayed by this sham agreement. Kim Jong-il stashed away missiles and nuclear weapons somewhere in the deep valleys in North Korea. He has nothing but an empty shell at Yongbyon nuclear site. He is laughing at the world by promising abandonment of Yongbyon nuclear facilities. Nobody wants to face the truth.

The U.S. gave enormous aid to North Korea after signing so-called 1994 Agreed Framework in Geneva. North Korea continued to develop weapons of mass destruction right after signing the agreement. How different is the Beijing Agreement from the Geneva Agreement? It is complete, verifiable, irreversible victory for Kim Jong-il again. The international community wanted to be cheated again by Kim Jong-il. This will go down in history the greatest sham of the century.

Kim Jong-il’s regime developed nuclear weapons for 20 years up to the time when the U.S. signed the Geneva Agreed Framework papers. Kim Jong-il secured more money and more time to develop nuclear weapons simply by signing the fake agreement. He showed the world not too long ago that he cheated on the previous agreement by testing his nuclear weapons. We, the NK defectors, cannot understand why the international community and South Korea don’t get it.

Do they really believe Kim Jong-il will ever give up his nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons are essential for the survival of his regime and his absolute control of the population. Kim Jong-il sacrificed several millions of his own people to develop his nuclear weapons and missiles. He cannot and will not give up his weapons. They only way to solve this problem is to bring democracy to North Korea.

Kim’s policies for the survival of his regime are; *To continue to enslave all North Koreans by way of “Sun Goon Policy-Military First Policy,” not by reform or opening-up his country to the outside world, *Boost morale and give pride to his military by challenging the world with his nuclear weapons, and securing more economic aid from the world through the 6-party talk, and *Divert the attention of the world community from the terrible concentration camps in North Korea such as Yoduk Concentration Camp to his nuclear blackmail.

Kim Jong-il refused to reform. Kim Jong-il refused to open up his country. He maintains his regime tightly controlled with the money from illicit activities such as counterfeiting, illegal drugs and cigarettes. These illegal activities will continue as long as Kim Jong-il is in power in North Korea. The U.S. froze some 24 million dollars at Banco Delta Asia in Macao to punish the illegal finances of North Korea. Now, the U.S. is ready to unfreeze the illegal funds? How then can they stop the illegal activities by North Korea regime in the future?

Crimes must be punished. Kim Jong-il developed his weapons of mass destruction at the expense of millions of his own people. He developed the mass murder weapons to kill his own people. Why should we reward him for developing the mass murder weapons? Kim Jong-il must give up his weapons without rewards and without conditions.

The enormous aid of heavy oil and food promised to Kim Jong-il will support his military only, not his starving people. He will build up his military much stronger with the foreign aid. He has done it before, and he will do it again.

Aid to North Korea without changing the regime will be poison to the North Korean people, but weapons and tonic for the regime. By signing the fake agreement in Beijing, the international community condemned the human rights and survival of North Koreans.

Send million tons of heavy oil and millions of dollars without dismantling his nuclear weapons and missiles? How many more “political” prisoners have to die in the infamous concentration camps? How many more North Koreans have to die from hunger and cold? North Koreans don’t count? Only the nuclear weapons?

Furthermore, the 6-party talk agreement enabled all the dictators in the world to defy and threaten the free world with their weapons of mass destruction. If they threat, we compensate? No! Never! We must rescind the 6-Party Agreement, and make Kim Jong-il dismantle his weapons without compensations.

If Kim Jong-il closes his concentration camps first, and if Kim Jong-il improves the human rights condition in North Korea, we can give aid to North Korea. If Kim Jong-il opens up his country and reforms his system, we can give aid to North Korea. He killed his own people. He developed his weapons by violating the basic human rights of all North Koreans. He needs his nuclear weapons because there are no human rights in North Korea.

If only Kim Jong-il disbands the collective farms and allows private farming, North Koreans can feed themselves without foreign aid. Economic aid is effective only when there is economic freedom.

Those of us, North Korean defectors in South Korea, ten thousand strong, who escaped the brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong-il, feel more than disappointment watching the so-called 6-party talk in Beijing. The international community must remember the most important aids to North Korea are freedom, democracy, and human rights. The international community neglected its responsibility when they were concerned only about the nuclear weapons, not the concentration camps and Kim Jong-il’s Genocide.

North Korean Democracy Alliance
Free North Korea Radio
North Korean Defectors Association
NK Defectors Association for Reunification
North Korean Gulag Survivors Association
North Korean Army Veterans Defectors Association

[Translated from Korean to English by Sin-U Nam, NK Human Rights Activist]