AEI on Religious Freedom in North Korea

Thanks to a reader for forwarding this summary of the American Enterprise Institute’s recent conference on religious freedom in North Korea. Among those in attendance were Ambassador Jay Lefkowitz, David Hawk, and Professor Sung-Yoon Lee of Harvard University.

The conference did not confine itself to the question of religious freedom, and there were some significant statements in there, which I’ll quote below for Korea watchers. I was encouraged by these statements by Amb. Lefkowitz:

There is a direct link between the prevalence of freedom in the world and the prospects for security and peace. The mission of the United States is to help one of the world’s most oppressed people to secure their human rights, including the right to be governed by their own consent. The other concern the United States has is in regards to North Korea’s criminal activities and nuclear ambitions. The link between government oppression and challenges to international security is widely recognized.

The U.S. objective with respect to North Korea is not so much democracy, as it is creating an opportunity for the people of North Korea to live and thrive, much like their neighbors to the south. The impetus for the North Korean government to open up and respect the rights of its citizens will grow stronger in the time ahead, but only if there is concerted international pressure.

A key way to empower the North Korean people is to force a ray of light through the veil that Kim Jong Il has drawn over the country. Information about the outside world and information about what is actually going on inside North Korea can be disseminated through increased radio broadcasting and other means. Nearly one-third of North Koreans have modified their radio to receive more than the single state propaganda station it came fixed to receive. This creates an opportunity for the United States to increase informational broadcasting.

Lefkowitz also spoke about mobilizing the Korean-American community and his opposition to unrestricted aid to the North Korean regime. His statements on refugees were also good, but I’ll wait for something tangible before I attach too much significance to them.

David Hawk mostly talked about religious freedom, concluding that there’s none. The summary includes this interesting statement: “For the moment, it is not possible to directly affect the situation in North Korea. Although no official action has been taken against North Korea as of yet, it will happen soon.” The summary didn’t elaborate about what action was being contemplated.

I liked this quote from Prof. Lee:

Addressing the issue of attempting to bring economic, political, religious, and civil freedom to one of the most systematically repressed peoples in world history should be the greatest priority for the South Korean government.

An historical analogy is telling. During Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, the conditions of life in North Korea were much better than they currently are today. There was far greater freedom of movement, habitation, worship, religion, and other basic freedoms. For sixty years under the Kim regime, North Korean citizens have been systematically deprived of basic human rights.

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