North Korean Defector And Human Rights Activist Yeonmi Park Criticizes Western Media On Presenting Kim Jong Un As A Joke; ‘He Is A Murderer’
North Korean Yeonmi Park defected from her home country when she was 13. After getting away from the totalitarian administration, Park has been campaigning against human rights abuses which allegedly exist in the country.
Speaking at the One Young World summit in Bangkok, the North Korean defector slammed the Western media for presenting DPRK Supreme leader Kim Jong Un as a joke.
"When I came to the West I found you were talking about Kim Jong Un," Park said, as noted by The Huffington Post. "Yes, his haircut is funny. Yes, he is fat. He is like a cartoon character somehow."
22-year-old Park went on, "But Kim Jong-un is not a joke to me. He was a god I had to worship every day. He is a murderer. Making fun of dictators cannot be enough. Why is it so funny?"
"And he might try to kill me now I have said this. But I am free, so I can say anything I want," she added.
Park also shared she was traded to traffickers for $260, while her mother was sold for just $65.
"My mother and I were victims of human trafficking. My mother was sold for $65 and I was sold for $250 as a bride," Park said.
"I wonder, what can we do with $65? I am sure we cannot buy a smartphone like you all have here, that you're taking pictures of me with. My mother was less valuable than an iPhone."
"When I had to be sold they told me, if you don't want to be sold you can go back to your country. But I said no because I was hungry. Being starved to death was worse than being a sex slave," she added.
On the other hand, nine North Koreans who are facing prison, persecution, sexual abuse and death for allegedly escaping their home country are asking China to accept them in the country for resettlement.
The group reportedly fled from North Korea and entered China via Vietnam just recently, as reported by news.com.au on Tuesday.
"North Korea subjects its citizens who are forcibly returned to incredibly harsh abuses, including incarceration in prison camps, torture, and execution," said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.
"Beijing should abide by its international obligations and allow the nine refugees to resettle in a safe third country," he continued.
