Updated April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar 27, 2007 - It gives me great pleasure to announce the events we have confirmed so far for North Korea Freedom Week April 22-29, 2007. I believe this year’s events will be more significant and have a greater impact than any in the past. It is certainly critical to the growing movement for human rights in North Korea for as many people to participate as possible and, despite recent setbacks, the movement continues to gain great momentum. We will have many heroes — North Korean defectors, former jailed humanitarian workers, leaders in government and the NGO community from several nations — with us that week. Many NGOs have stepped forward, and are continuing to step forward, to plan programs focusing on the human rights situation in North Korea during North Korea Freedom Week. Here’s a preliminary list of confirmed events, and I will be sending periodic reports as more times and locations are confirmed, but I wanted everyone to know — with just 6 more weeks until the special guests begin to arrive — how much has already been confirmed.

Even if you cannot come to Washington, D.C., everyone can be a part of the Saturday, April 28, 12:00 noon International Protest against China’s Violent Treatment of North Korea Refugees — we are still recruiting folks to cover as many Chinese consulates and embassies as possible around the world — we have to top last December’s record of 23 cites and 15 countries.

So here it is!

Warm regards,
Suzanne

Confirmed Events for North Korea Freedom Week 2007

North Korea Genocide Exhibit — finally a location within walking distance of Capitol Hill!
Monday, April 23 - Thursday, April 26
Time: Open Daily 9 am to 5 pm; Special Ribbon Cutting at 12pm Tuesday, April 24
Location: Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse, 201 F Street, NE (near Union Station), Washington, D.C.
Organizers: Sin U Nam, Moon Gook Han, Nathan Hill
Sponsor: International Coalition to Save the North Korean Slaves

Panel on Failure to Protect: A Call to the UN Security Council to Act in North Korea
Monday, April 23
Confirmed speakers: Soon-Kyung Hong, Chairman of the North Korean Defectors Association, DLA Piper Attorney Jared Genser, and Debra-Liang Fenton, Executive Director of the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Location: DLA Piper (1200 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC)
Organizer: Debra Liang-Fenton
Sponsor: U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, DLA Piper
RSVP: hrnk_org@hotmail.com

Panel: INFORMATION IS POWER: The Future of Radio Broadcasting Into North Korea
Tuesday, April 24
Confirmed speakers: Kim Seung Min (Director of Free North Korea Radio), Ambassador Mark Palmer of Freedom House, John Fox of I-Media, Blanquita Cullum of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Libby Liu of Radio Free Asia and Jay Henderson of Voice of America
Time: 9:30-11:30 am
Location: Freedom House Ballroom, 1319 18th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.(Dupont Circle Metro—Southside)
Organizer: Jessica Barnes
Sponsor: Freedom House, Broadcasting Board of Governors and Free North Korea Radio
RSVP by April 20: Barnes@freedomhouse.org

12:00 noon VIP Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: North Korea Genocide Exhibit
Confirmed speakers (so far): Congressman Ed Royce, Huh Kwang-il, President of the Defector’s Association for Unification, Kang Chul Hwan and Ahn Hyuk, founders of the Democracy Network Against the NK Gulag, Teruaki Masumoto and Yoicha Shimada of the Japanese Rescue Movement
Location: Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse, 201 F Street, NE near Union Station
Organizers: Sin U Nam, Moon Gook Han, Nathan Hill
Sponsor: International Coalition to Save the North Korean Slaves

Panel to discuss “Who’s Afraid of North Korean Regime Collapse”?
Tuesday, April 24
Confirmed speakers include Nick Eberstadt of AEI, Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch, Bruce Bechtol
Time: 3-5 pm
Location: American Enterprise Institute, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
Organizer: Nicholas Eberstadt, Chris Griffin
Sponsor: American Enterprise Institute

Congressional Human Rights Caucus: Humanitarian Emergency: North Korean Refugees in China
Tuesday, April 24
Confirmed speakers: Congressman Tom Lantos (opening remarks), former jailed humanitarian workers Phillip Buck and Choi Young Hun, former refugees in China Lee Sung Gyu, and Chiba Yomiko (invited) Suzanne Scholte
Time: 3-4:30pm
Location: 2200 or 2250 Rayburn House Office Building
Organizer: Hans Hogrefe
Sponsor: Congressman Tom Lantos, Congressional Human Rights Caucus

Panel on Religious Persecution in North Korea, followed by a reception
Thursday, April 26
Confirmed speakers: Michael Cromartie of USCRIF, Congressman Trent Franks, North Korean defectors and now church leaders Eom Myong-Heui and Sung Gyu Lee, Open Doors President and CEO Carl Moeller
Time: 3-5pm
Location: The National Press Club, 529 14th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20045
Holeman Lounge, Reception following in 1st Amendment Room
Organizer: Lindsay Vessey
Sponsor: Open Doors
Please RSVP your name, title, organization by Apr 13 to lindsayv@odusa.org

Capitol Hill Lunch Forum: “Promoting Freedom and Human Rights for North Korea” with All Visiting North Korean Defectors
Friday, April 27
Confirmed: Leaders of all the North Korean defector led NGOs working for human rights in North Korea including Hong Soon-Kyung, Huh Kwang-il, Kim Seung-Min, Kang Chul Hwan, Ahn Hyok, Park Sang Hak, Lee Min-Bok, Eom Myong-Heui, Kang Hak-Sil, Lee Sung-Gyu, and very special guests Phillip Buck, Choi Yong Hun, Moon Kook Han, Teruaki Masumoto, Yoichi Shimada, and Fumiyo Saitoh
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: B-339 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Organizer: Suzanne Scholte
Honorary Congressional Host: Congressman Ed Royce
Sponsor: Defense Forum Foundation
Please RVSP (Required) by COB Apr 26 to skswm@aol.com (Lunch included at $30)

Special Prayer Service for North Korea and the North Korean Defectors
Friday, April 27
Time: 7pm
Location: The Falls Church, 115 East Fairfax Street, Falls Church, VA
Organizer: Pastor Heemoon Lee and NKFC Prayer Committee, PSALT
Sponsor: North Korea Freedom Coalition

International Protest Against China’s Violent Treatment of North Korean Refugees
Saturday, April 28 (North Korea Freedom Day Anniversary!)
Time: 11:30 am Music, 12 noon program starts
Location: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, 2300 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC and their PRC embassies and consulates around the world
Organizers, so far: PSALT (New York), Gail Beilitz (Houston), Lindsay Vessey,Youngshok Choi and Tom Byun (Los Angeles), Paul Davis (Chicago); Sin U Nam, Jeff Park, James Ham, Pastor Heemoon Lee, Suzanne Scholte (Washington, D.C.), Marianne Bruning and Annechien Weening (Netherlands) Open Doors (Switzerland and Germany); Willie Fautre (Brussels), Abraham Lee and Peter Jung (Seoul)….
Sponsor: North Korea Freedom Coalition, Open Doors, International Campaign to Block the Repatriation of North Korean Refugees

Also Requested But Not Yet Set:

As in previous years, we have also requested Congressional hearings to occur during the week. Two specific hearings have been requested of Members of Congress to expose DPRK illicit activities including drugs, counterfeiting, abductions, etc. and the 2nd on China’s atrocities against humanitarian workers (including its own citizens) and NK refugees with eyewitnesses to these activities and atrocities here for NKFW.

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