NK FOOTPRINTS 2.0

allegedly arrested from his home in the Republic of Korea by staff members of the State Political Security Department of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in July 1950

Allegedly abducted from his home in the Republic of Korea, by North Korean soldiers, in late July 1950.

Allegedly abducted on 20 July 1950 by communist partisans from Hajang Elementary School, before being turned in to the Hajang police station, DPRK.

Allegedly arrested on 13 July 1950 by agents of the State Security Department of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the street of Wonhyo-ro 3-ga in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

allegedly kidnapped on 20 August 1950 by North Korean soldiers.

allegedly abducted from his home in Donam-dong 56_2 Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, ROK on 26 September 1950 by an armed North Korean policeman.

allegedly abducted from his home in ROK, on 17 August 1950, by North Korean soldiers.

allegedly abducted from his home in ROK, in December 1950, by North Korean agents.

allegedly abducted from his home in Seoul, ROK by the North Korean People's Army, in July 1950.

allegedly abducted from his residence in August 1950 by officials of the Internal Affairs Department

allegedly abducted from Pocheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do on 5 July 1950 by Namnodang party.

Allegedly abducted in late March 2006 at home, presumably by agents of the Ministry of State Security.

Hwang Won was abducted when Korean Air Lines YS-11 was hijacked and taken to North Korea by a North Korean agent on 11 December 1969, and was one of the 11 of 50 South Koreans who were not returned on 14 February 1970. He was taken away and tortured during his initial captivity for singing a South Korean song "I want to go [home]" on lunar New Year's Day. In the recent years, he has been residing near Sariwon, 100 kilometres south of Pyongyang under house arrest.

The WGAD found Hwang Won's deprivation of liberty to be in contravention of articles 9 and 19 of the UDHR and articles 9 and 19 of the ICCPR, and arbitrary falling within categories I and II. The WGAD requested North Korea to release Mr. Hwang Won immediately, award him compensation, conduct a full and independent investigation and take appropriate measures against those responsible.

Mr. Lee Hak Su was arrested on 23 January 2009 by the military of North Korea without a warrant being presented and transferred to the office of the Security Bureau for investigation. Mr. Lee, his family, and his lawyers have not been informed of the reason for the deprivation of his liberty. A source reports that his activity - doing business with China - was assumed to be an act of espionage. Subsequently, Mr. Lee was transferred to Yodok prison camp, where he is believed to remain. North Korea reported that the case had no relevance to North Korea.

The WGAD found that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Lee to be in contravention of articles 3, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the UDHR and articles 2 (3), 9, 14 and 16 of the ICCPR and arbitrary, falling within category I. The WGAD requested North Korea to release Mr. Lee immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation.

Ms. Eun Sil Kang, a foreign currency broker, and her family members were arrested in April 2012, without knowledge of why and where they were being taken. In May 2014, Ms. Kang was rearrested by the agent of the State Security Department of Ryanggang Province and reportedly imprisoned in a prison camp although she had received no charges against her, no trial and no sentence. Ms. Kang’s family members were not notified of the reason for her arrest. North Korea reported that the case had no relevance to North Korea.

The WGAD found the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Kang, being in contravention of articles 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 of the UDHR and articles 2 (3), 9, 14 and 16 of the ICCPR, and is arbitrary and falls within the category I. The WGAD requested that North Korea release Ms. Kang immediately and accord her an enforceable right to compensation. The WGAD further requested North Korea to provide it with more information.

Kyeong-Hee Kang who resided in China was arrested in China on 25 August 2008 together with her teenage son and other defectors. Ms. Kang was reportedly sent to Yodok political prison camp, and her son was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment in Gaecheon re-education camp. Seung Cheol Kim was arrested with 12 other defectors when he was attempting to enter Mongolia to seek asylum. Keum Nam Lee was arrested along with other defectors when she intended to seek asylum in South Korea and later was sent to Yodok political prison camp. Myung-Ju Lee was arrested in China and forcibly repatriated to North Korea. Ms. Lee was reportedly detained in City of Hoeryoung under the custody of the NSA for defecting from North Korea and reading the Bible. The source reports that Ms. Lee was seriously abused during the investigation and has suffered sustained injuries. Ms. Lee was later sent to political prison camp No. 16 in September 2015. All four individuals were arrested without any warrant being presented or legal procedure being followed.

The WGAD found the deprivation of liberty by the authorities of China of Kyeong-Hee Kang, Seung Cheol Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee to be in contravention of articles 9, 10 and 11 of the UDHR, arbitrary falling within categories I, III and V.

The WGAD found that deprivation of liberty by the authorities of North Korea of Kyeong-Hee Kang, Seung Cheol Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee to be in contravention of articles 9, 10, 11 and 13 of the UDHR and articles 9, 14 and 18 of the ICCPR, and arbitrary falling within categories I, II and III. The WGAD requested that North Korea release them immediately and accord her an enforceable right to compensation. The WGAD further requested North Korea and China to provide it with more information.

Mi Sook Kang was arrested in Yanji by Chinese police officials and later detained because she attempted to seek asylum in China. Ho Seok Kim was also arrested by Chinese police officials while traversing the border between Mongolia and China to seek asylum in South Korea. They were both arrested without being presented with warrants and appropriate legal procedures. North Korea did not respond to the WGAD's request to provide more information on the three individuals. China responded that it did not have any information.

With regards to China, the WGAD found that the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Kang and Mr. Kim being in contravention of articles7, 9, and 14(1) of the UDHR are arbitrary and fall within categories I and II. With regard to North Korea, the WGAD found that the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Kang and Mr. Kim being in contravention of articles 7, 9, 10, 11 and 14 (1) of the UDHR and of articles 9 and 14 of the ICCPR, is arbitrary and falls within categories I and III.

The WGAD further referred the situation of Ms. Kang and Mr. Kim to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and requested the two Governments, China and North Korea, provide it with more information concerning Ms. Kang and Mr. Kim.

In May 2001, Il Joo was arrested by agents from the National Security Agency. It was reported that he was detained for receiving money from his sister, who had defected to South Korea, which constitutes espionage under North Korea's criminal law. Cheol Yong Kim was arrested for allegedly reading a magazine from ROK and meeting with a South Korean when he was in China, which falls under espionage. Eun Ho Kim was arrested by an NSA agent for watching a video from South Korea and criticizing the food-rationing system, which constitutes anti-state propaganda and agitation. Kwang Ho Kim was arrested for watching a South Korean video. Sang Min Yoon was arrested for allegedly telling a friend that he sold military equipment abroad, which constitutes espionage. According to the source, these individuals were arrested without being presented with an arrest warrant or a copy of another decision issued by a North Korean authority. In response to the WGAD's allegations, North Korea did not address the substance of the allegations.

The WGAD found the deprivation of liberty of Il Joo, Cheol Yong Kim, Eun Ho Kim, Kwang Ho Kim and Seong Min Yoon to be in contravention of articles 17 and 19 of the UDHR and articles 12 and 19 of the ICCPR, and arbitrary falling within categories I and II. The WGAD requested that North Korea release them immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation. The WGAD further request North Korea to provide it with more information.

In March 2004, Hyang-sil Kwon was arrested by the Chinese Police without a warrant and was forcibly repatriated to North Korea. Following her repatriation, Ms. Kwon was sent to Hoeryong City Security Council in May 2004, where she was allowed to receive food but not visits from her family. On 31 August 2004, her family was informed that she had been transferred to North Hamgyong Province Security Agency. Ms. Kwon's family has not received any information about her fate and whereabouts since her transfer. It is believed that Ms. Kwon transferred to the Yodok political prison camp. North Korea did not respond to the allegations.

The WGAD held that the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Kwon is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 9 and 10 of the UDHR and articles 9 and 14 of the ICCPR, and falls within categories I and III. The WGAD requested that North Korea release her immediately and accord her an enforceable right to compensation.