[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 71 (Thursday, May 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E837-E838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS KIM YOUNG 
           HWAN, YU JAE GIL, KANG SHIN SAM, AND LEE SANG YONG

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2012

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, today I want to bring attention to the 
cases of four human rights activists who have dedicated themselves to 
pro-democracy efforts in North Korea. Kim Young Hwan, Yu Jae Gil, Kang 
Shin Sam, and Lee Sang Yong reportedly were arrested in Dalian, in 
Communist China, and remain imprisoned by Communist China's Ministry of 
State Security in the Liaoning Province, near the border with North 
Korea.
  These human rights activists are in serious danger. Many fear that 
Kim in particular, once a North Korean regime insider who has become 
one of the most outspoken advocates for freedom and human rights for 
the North Korean people, has been subjected to harsh interrogation and 
even torture by Chinese state security or North Korean security thugs. 
Even while living in South Korea, he often suffered harassment and 
intimidation for his activism and work on NKnet by pro-North Korean 
sympathizers. As the Daily NK reported on May 16, 2012, if Kim was 
transported to the Sino-North Korean border to be interrogated by North 
Korean agents, ``then what is the difference between throwing a piece 
of meat to a dog and handing Kim to the North Korean National Security 
Agency, whose men come and go from Dandong as if it were their own 
house?''

[[Page E838]]

  The conditions of the other three activists are unknown because they 
have been denied consular access to representatives of South Korea, and 
they have been refused family and attorney visits as well. Like Kim, 
they were arrested on March 29, 2012 under Communist China's nebulous 
``threat to national security'' edict, but further reasons for their 
detainment have not been provided. There are well-founded concerns that 
they have undergone harsh interrogations.
  I commend the ``Committee for the Release of North Korean Human 
Rights Activist Kim Young Hwan'' for raising awareness of this critical 
human rights issue, and urge human rights advocates to press for the 
immediate release of these brave pro-democracy activists.

                          ____________________