[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.