Thae Yong-ho, former North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, 19 February 2019. Thae defected with his family to South Korea in August 2016. File Photo by JEON HEON-KYUN /EPA
The World North Korean Diaspora Council, an international network of North Korean defectors chaired by Thae Yong-ho, said it will present plaques of appreciation Wednesday to contributors to the 2025 Seoul North Korean Human Rights World Conference.
The council said the awards will be presented at a year-end gathering for North Korean defectors on Dec. 17. Recipients include Lim Chang-ho, organizing committee chair of the conference, and Son Kwang-joo, conference chair, the council said.
In a statement, the group said Lim and Son planned and led the conference and helped connect defectors through the event “not merely as subjects of testimony but as agents of human rights” taking action in the international community.
The council said the recipients were selected through a joint resolution by representatives of North Korean diaspora councils in 24 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Oceania and South America. It said plaques and commemorative gifts were funded through voluntary contributions from representatives in each country.
The organization also said it is carrying out international solidarity efforts focused on legal protection and the safe repatriation of North Korean soldiers detained in Ukraine. It said those efforts include coordination with local Ukrainian civil society and international human rights organizations, calls for protective intervention by international bodies and promotion of the principle of respecting detainees’ free will.
– Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
