“I pray that the results will exceed our expectation. Above all, I hope Chairman Kim Jong Un’s heart softens and peace will be established in this land.”
Missionary Kenneth Bae (Korean Name 배준호·49, photo) expressed these hopes for the upcoming North-South Summit. Bae was arrested in November 2012 while visiting North Korea to guide tourists. He was charged with attempting to overthrow the state and was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor. Confined to a forced labor prison, he was released after 735 days.
On April 25, I met Missionary Bae at his office in Guro-gu. He said, “The main tasks of this summit are abandonment of nuclear weapons and the settlement of peace. And because a North Korea-U.S. summit is likely to follow this one, the situation has become very different. If abolishment of nuclear armaments is announced together with practical action plans, the atmosphere around the Korean peninsula will change.”
He said, “The South-North summit must include human rights issues in its agenda. Simply to respect each other without any human rights improvement in North Korea is to ignore North Koreans’ suffering. President Moon Jae-in should be a voice speaking about the pains of North Koreans.” Recalling the North Korean residents he met during his detention there, he said, “I hope their lives can be prosperous and free.”
In October last year Missionary Bae established the Nehemiah Global Initiative in the United States. He opened a branch of this NGO in Korea last January, and now works to support the rescue, care and recovery of North Korean defectors.
Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo by senior reporter Kang Min Seok
Original Article in Korean:
[남북정상회담] 케네스 배 선교사 “北 인권 의제로 다뤄야”: 北에 억류됐던 사역자에게 듣다
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2018-04-26 16:17
