Appendix D

A testimony by Mr. Chun Gil Lee, who was a former agent of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Department of Defense (hereinafter DPRK DD), was published d in a South Korea publication, Shin-Dong-A, in March 2003.[1][1] According to this article, Mr. Lee, who formally arrested North Korean refugees in China and forcibly repatriated them to the DPRK, revealed that Rev. Kim was abducted on suspicion that he evangelized North Korean refugees in China and gave them Bibles to take back to the DPRK. There were nine persons involved in Rev. Kimfs abduction -- three North Korean agents and six Korean ethnic minorities from China.

Following are the details regarding the nine persons who participated in Rev. Kim’s abduction.

1. Song San Kim (38 yrs old) also known as Young Mi Kim: DPRK agent. He is a resident of Sung Chung Dong, Hoi Ryung city, DPRK and has been maneuvering in China since 1995. On September 4, 1998 he was awarded the Order of Labor Merit for abducting Mr. Won Joo who was a DPRK refugee maneuvering in Yanji, China for the South Korean National Intelligence Service.

2. Gun Chun Park (42) also known as Chul Song Park: DPRK agent. He is from the area of Chung Am, Chung Jin city, DPRK. He was also involved in abduction of Rev. Kim.

3. Kwang Chul Jee (34) also known as Song Chul Jee: DPRK agent. He was a former member of the People’s Army Special Force. He was naturalized in China because of his excellent martial arts. He was working as a master of the Chung Ryong Martial Arts School and also supported the DPRK DD.

4. Yong Chul Lee (33) and Young Hwa Ryu (33) are Korean ethnic minorities who reside in An Min St., Rung Jing city, China. Chul Hak Yoon (35) is a Korean ethnic minority who works in Kwang Ming St., Hu Rung city, China. Young Sam Jun (44), Hak Joo Lee (38), and Ok Hwa Kang (38) are ethnic minorities who reside in San Ho Jin, Rung Jin city, China. Among them, Yong Chul Lee drove the grey, China-made Santana that had the license plate no. 423-23. It is believed that Yong Chul Lee and Young Hwa Ryu have temporarily been present in the Republic of Korea since August 2001.

According to the testimony by Mr. Chun Gil Lee, it is confirmed that Rev. Kim’s abduction was carried out by agents from the DPRK DD. Moreover, as Mr. Lee claimed in his testimony, there are several reasons as to why the DPRK authorities had an interest in abducting Rev. Kim.

a) Rev. Kim graduated from Seoul Koro Seminary in the ROK and was ordained in 1984 as a Christian minister.

b) In 1988, Rev. Kim was an official aid for the handicapped athletes during the Disabled Olympic Games in Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK). During this event, Rev. Kim met Chinese disabled athletes. His compassion for them led him to donate 85 cows and 20 wheelchairs to the handicapped people in China. Jang Heduck authored a book called Dream of the Wheelchair after being inspired by Rev. Kim’s kindness and committed dedication to the handicapped and oppressed.

c) Rev. Kim moved to the U.S. and obtained permanent residence. From 1988 to January 2000, Rev. Kim traveled frequently to China. He was actively involved in aiding the North Korean people in China by advocating for their human rights and also providing for their physical needs. In 1990, with the help of several South Korean churches, he sent clothes, socks, and flour to Pyongyang and Shineuijoo, DPRK. Rev. Kim traveled back k to the United States periodically to visit his family and sponsoring church.

d) From 1988 to January 2000, he taught North Korean defectors in China the gospel of Jesus Christ. He translated the gospel of Mark, Luke, John, and Matthew into the e dialect of the North Koreans. He also sent Bible booklets with the translated gospel to the DPRK.

e) In 1996, Rev. Kim, through his church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, arranged for accommodations and transportation for seventy (70) North Korean athletes and officials participating in the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

f) On November 30, 1999, Rev. Kim led thirteen (13) North Korean defectors into South Korea after passing through China and Mongolia. He was detained in Mongolia for several days. He reentered China on January 15, 2000. The day after his re-entry, the three men approached Rev. Kim after Sunday chapel service and Rev. Kim has since not been found.

Rev. Kim’s many high profile contacts with the DPRK, through his assistance at the Olympics, numerous donations of humanitarian aid and Bibles to the DPRK, and active involvement in helping North Korean defectors in China by teaching them the gospel and providing humanitarian aid, made him a target for the DPRK and China. His most marked work in aiding thirteen (13) North Korean defectors through < st1:place>China into Mongolia, where the defectors were granted safe passage to the ROK by the Mongolian President, was the last major effort Rev. Kim rendered to the North Koreans before his disappearance. This final effort by Rev. Kim likely prompted the DPRK’s abduction of the Reverend.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2002, and Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s report, the DPRK has been practicing execution as punishment for those North Koreans who return from China having had contact with Christians or with South Koreans. Some North Korean witnesses who testified before the U.S. Congress stated that, “prisoners held on the basis of their religious beliefs generally were treated worse than other inmates.” Furthermore, the Country Reports state that the DPRK views believers with ties to evangelical group s in North China as “subversive elements.”

There are long-standing reports of past government involvement in the abduction abroad of South Koreans, Japanese and other foreign nationals. In fact, several suspected cases in recent years of abducting, hostage-taking, and other acts of violence, apparently intended to intimidate ethnic Koreans living in China and Russia, have been reported. Moreover, numerous report s indicated that ordinary [North Korean] citizens were not allowed to mix with foreign nationals, and Amnesty International reported that a number of citizens who maintained friendships with foreigners have disappeared. These reports, including a report by Korea Scope, Koreans Kidnapped by DPRK, show a long history of abduction by the DPRK. In fact, the North Korean Worker’s Party operates a specially trained abduction squad according to Korea Scope.

These reports clearly demonstrate that the DPRK and China, to a great extent, are attempting to completely eliminate North Korean travel to China and also North Korean contact with Christians, South Koreans, and activists attempting to aid and evangelize North Koreans. In the government’s efforts to implement this goal, China and the DPRK penalize, punish through torture and execution, and/or abduct activists as well as defectors for their associations.

Rev. Kim’s generous contributions and service, as well as his disappearance on January 16, 2000, have been well documented in many sources internationally with claims that his abduction was initiated by the DPRK. Documentation includes a concurrent resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives passed on June 11, 2002, urging the Governments of the United States, ROK, and China to seek a full accounting from the Government of DPRK regarding the whereabouts and condition of the Reverend Dong Shik Kim. [2]

Reverend Ahn Seung Woon, a South Korean pastor, was working in China when he was abducted by North Korean agents. On 7th July 1995 he had attended a worship service and was talking to a North Korean couple by his car. He had the car running with his wallet and glasses inside, when he was approached by two North Koreans. They took him aside and made him get into a taxi. He was not seen again until he appeared on North Korean television two weeks later. His wife was horrified to learn that he had been abducted into North Korea and described him as looking very tense and thin.

Mrs Ahn has never seen him since. She and her three children, who were 16, 20 and 22 when he was abducted, miss him greatly. He also has four grandchildren. She describes him as a very loving and caring family-oriented person, with a fun, warm personality.

She says: "I am convinced that he does not want to be in North Korea and that he was forced to go there. However he was very concerned about the spiritual life of the North Korean people and very keen to see them find salvation. Maybe that is why God has allowed him to be there, to reach them in a way that would be impossible otherwise. Whatever the situation I ask people to pray for him and for the mission work amongst North Koreans."

[1][1] Shin Dong A, Enticement Maneuver of the DPRK Department of Defense to Prevent Mass Escaping - The Truth of Rev. Dong Shik Kim’s Abduction, March 2003.