    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [April 28, 2006]
    [Pages 821-822]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With North Korean Defectors and Family
    Members of Japanese Abducted by North Korea
    April 28, 2006

        I have just had one of the most moving meetings since I've been the
    President, here in the Oval Office. I met with a mom and a brother who long to be
    reunited with her daughter and his sister.
    They're apart because the North Korean Government abducted the child
    when she was a teenager. And all the mom wants is to be reunited with
    her daughter.
        It is hard to believe that a country would foster abduction. It's
    hard for Americans to imagine that a leader of any country would
    encourage the abduction of a young child. It's a heartless country that
    would separate loved ones, and yet that's exactly what happened to this
    mom as a result of the actions of North Korea.
    If North Korea expects to be respected in the world, that country must
    respect human rights and human dignity and must allow this mother to hug
    her child again.
        I talked to a family, a young North Korean family that escaped the
    clutches of tyranny in order to live in freedom. This young couple was about to have a
    child, and the mom was 5 months pregnant when
    they crossed the river to get into China. They wandered in China,
    wondering whether or not their child could grow up and have a decent
    life. They were deeply concerned about the future of their child; any
    mother and father would be concerned about their child.
        They had to wander because they did not want to have their child
    grow up in a society that was brutal, a society that did not respect the
    human condition. By the grace of God, they found safe haven. Their
    child was born and now safely sits here in the
    Oval Office.
        I talked to a courageous man who escaped
    from North Korea. He was in the North Korean military. He saw firsthand
    the brutal nature of the regime, and he couldn't--his heart could no
    longer take it. He followed his conscience and escaped. He speaks for
    thousands who have escaped North Korea and thousands who live inside the
    country; he speaks eloquently about the need for their freedom and for
    them to be treated decently.
        The world requires courage to confront people who do not respect
    human rights, and it has been my honor to welcome into the Oval Office
    people of enormous courage: a mom; a mother and dad of a young
    child; a former soldier; a brother. And so I welcome you
    here. We're proud you're here. I assure you that the United States of
    America strongly respects human rights. We strongly will work for
    freedom so that the people of North Korea can raise their children in a
    world that's free and hopeful and so that moms will never again have to
    worry about an abducted daughter.
        May God bless you all. Thanks for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:39 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Sakie Yokota, mother, and Takuya
    Yokota, brother, of Megumi

    [[Page 822]]

    Yokota, who was abducted by North Korean authorities; Kim Guang Choel
    and Lee Seong Hee, who defected from North Korea, and their daughter,
    Kim Han Mee; and Chung Seong-san, who defected from North Korea.