Reinvigorating Global Engagement on Human Rights in North Korea: The 2025 NK Insider Forum
Seoul, Korea (Oct. 29, 2025) – Last week on October 22, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the NGO Council for North Korean Human Rights hosted the 2025 NK Insider Forum, the day-long kickoff event of the inaugural three-day Seoul World Convention on North Korean Human Rights. More than 300 attendees gathered to hear from two defectors, who shared their firsthand experiences under the Kim regime, and international experts who shed light on inhumane punishment, pervasive censorship, and systematic oppression and discussed paths forward to reinvigorate global engagement on human rights in North Korea.
In his first major public appearance since defecting nearly a decade ago, Kim Kang, the former deputy representative of North Korea’s diplomatic mission in Russia, recounted his disillusionment when his family was punished despite deep-rooted loyalty to the regime after a relative was sentenced to ten years in prison for distributing copies of the Bible.
Michael Breen, a former Seoul correspondent for The Guardian, The Times, and The Washington Times, called on the international community to maintain unification as a milestone to achieve a greater goal: a democratic Korea. In the long run, he argued, people’s desires for freedom and dignity will prevail over authoritarianism.
Kim Yu-mi, a North Korean defector who escaped with her family by sea in 2023, recalled the moment they resolved to flee. When Kim Jong-un introduced his daughter in 2022, showcasing wealth and privilege in stark contrast to the starving public, she knew there was no future in North Korea.
Opening remarks from HRF CEO Thor Halvorssen emphasized the strength and resilience of the North Korean people who have called for freedom in the face of dictatorship, even as shifting South Korean and international policies have deeply impacted advocacy for North Korean human rights.
The forum also featured an interactive tech session led by freedom tech developer Calvin Kim that introduced attendees to AI coding tools that can advance human rights advocacy. Sunye, a South Korean singer and the lead vocalist of the K-pop group Wonder Girls, performed a medley of Korean and English songs and described her own experiences reckoning with a divided Korea as a young girl in South Korea’s Gangwon Province.
“Today’s North Korea is not the same isolationist hermit kingdom that it used to be,” said Seongmin Lee, director of HRF’s Korea Desk, describing how the regime imports authoritarian technologies and works with other dictators to violate human rights both within and beyond its borders. “The international community must continue to support North Korean defectors, civil society, and free societies to combat these interconnected and growing threats.”
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
For interview requests or media inquiries, please email media@hrf.org.
NK Insider (NKIN) is an online news platform offering unique perspectives on North Korea, primarily from North Korean defectors, with occasional contributions from others.
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