Kim Jong-un accused at UN: North Korean defectors call for crimes against humanity trial
Two North Korean women who escaped the regime demand international justice and call for Kim Jong-un to be tried by the International Criminal Court.
In a powerful appearance before the United Nations General Assembly, two North Korean defectors, Eunju Kim and Gyuri Kang, publicly accused Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of committing crimes against humanity. The women, who fled the country under harrowing circumstances, urged world leaders to take action and prosecute him at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The accusations were swiftly dismissed by North Korea’s UN ambassador, Kim Song, who called the claims a "farce of conspiracies and fabrications." He defended the regime, claiming that millions of North Koreans enjoy full rights, and instead pointed the finger at the West for global human rights abuses.
Survivors speak: Human trafficking, persecution, and public executions
Eunju Kim fled North Korea in 1999 during a devastating famine. Alongside her mother and sister, she crossed the Tumen River into China, where all three were sold for less than $300. After being caught and repatriated in 2002, they escaped again—this time for good. Kim described the treatment of North Korean defectors as a modern form of human trafficking and raised concerns about the regime sending soldiers abroad, including to conflict zones like Ukraine, without their knowledge or consent.
Gyuri Kang, who escaped in October 2023 on a small fishing boat with her mother and aunt, shared her own history of religious persecution. Her family was targeted due to her grandmother's Christian faith. Kang recounted the horrifying executions of three friends for watching or distributing South Korean TV shows—two of them in public, one only 19 years old. She said they were treated “as if they had committed monstrous crimes.”
In response, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, Kim Song, dismissed the accusations as "a farce of intrigue and fabrication." Photo: WJTV
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UN reports alarming humanitarian decline since pandemic
UN Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmón highlighted a sharp deterioration in North Korea’s humanitarian conditions since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The regime’s extreme border closures and isolationist policies have deepened repression, including stricter laws, harsher punishments, and increased use of public executions.
Salmón also warned about the militarization of everyday life in North Korea. Citizens are subjected to forced labor under a state-run system designed to fund Kim’s nuclear ambitions. She raised alarm over the possible deployment of North Korean troops to Ukraine, further underlining the regime’s exploitation of its population for geopolitical leverage.
