A North Korean defector, whose harrowing story caught the attention of US President Donald Trump, is urging leaders of both countries to shine a spotlight on human rights abuses during the Singapore summit.
Following from a meeting with Trump in January, Ji Seong-ho said he had high hopes for Tuesday's historic summit between the US president and Kim Jong-un.
The human rights advocate, whose harrowing escape from the regime saw him singled out in Mr Trump’s State of the Union speech, told SBS News he was confident North Korea’s human rights abuses wouldn't be left off the agenda in Singapore.
“I have faith and I am convinced because I witnessed the determination of President Trump and Vice President Pence,” Mr Ji said.
Ji Seong-ho with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Source: Supplied
Framed pictures of Mr Ji’s White House visit adorned his office in downtown Seoul, where he works at the Now Action & Unity for Human Rights organisation, supporting other defectors.
Mr Ji achieved worldwide fame after hoisting the wooden crutches his father made for him over his head in Washington.
The action quickly became an international symbol of perseverance and of Mr Ji’s extraordinary escape from North Korea.
North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho raises his crutches as US President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC Source: Getty
Starvation, torture and survival
Mr Ji’s grandmother starved to death during the North Korean famine of the 1990s, as the public food distribution system in the country collapsed.
“Having encountered that experience, what was on my mind as a 13-year-old boy was how to survive,” he said.
Mr Ji fainted from exhaustion on the night of March 7, 1996, while trying to steal coal from a train.
He woke to find a train had run over his limbs; his left hand and leg were removed.
“When I was transferred to the hospital I didn’t have anesthetic or antibiotics,” Mr Ji said.
“The pain of the saw cutting my bone is still vivid.”
Ji Seong-ho as a boy in starved North Korea. Source: Supplied
An illegal trip to China saw Mr Ji tortured by North Korean secret police in 2000.
He eventually defected to the South in 2006, after a treacherous journey crossing the Tumen River into China and trekking though the jungles of Laos.
He was reunited with his younger brother in South Korea, with his mother and sister joining him years later.
His father was caught trying to flee and eventually died in prison.
Democracy awards and North Korea’s future
Mr Ji is returning to Washington next week to receive a Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy.
Four Korean organisations working to document human rights abuses, empower defectors and ensure the free flow of information in North Korea are being honoured.
After enduring so much in his lifetime, Mr Ji told SBS News he is hoping for substantial change on the Korean Peninsula, and said he predicts Kim Jong-un’s days as a dictator are numbered.
“North Koreans won’t stick with a low-standard leader,” Mr Ji said.
“Democratic elections will eventually take place and Kim Jong-un won’t be able to remain in power.”
Share
