ABSTRACT
In the midst of the important discussion of geopolitical security concerns regarding nuclear weapons and cyberwarfare, the stifled cry of the North Korean people, whose rights have been grossly and systematically trampled upon, pleads for redress. The egregious conditions and unthinkable treatment of the North Korean people by their own government clamours for worldwide attention. The dictatorships of Kim Jong-Un and his father and grandfather who reigned before him have defied treaties entered into throughout the international community and have made decisions that focus purely on the gain of the government to the extreme detriment of its citizens. Media attention regarding these violations has improved over the years. For instance, the U.S. news sources appropriately informed us about the plight of American journalists in North Korea (who have since returned); yet not much attention focuses upon the astonishing absence of a free press, free speech, and free-association rights inside North Korea. Media outlets readily cover North Korea’s missile launches, but do not provide as much coverage for the concentration camps that can stun even the calloused conscience. The story of North Korean counterfeiting U.S. currency makes for a fine news headline, yet the wrenching narratives of refugees sent back to North Korea to face cruel torture, unrelenting labor on less than subsistence rations, and possible execution receive less recognition.
