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By Yi Whan-woo
Over 30 delegates leading groups of North Korean defectors worldwide met in Brussels, Tuesday (local time), denouncing the Kim Jong-un regime's repressive rule, its dire human rights and development of weapons of mass destruction.
This was the first general meeting among North Korean defectors scattered around the globe, including South Korea and other Asian countries as well as the United States and Europe.
In its "Brussels Statement" adopted in the capital of Belgium and the European Union (EU), the participants claimed that the Kim regime should be held responsible for "all types of inhumane acts" committed in its reclusive state.
They said the repressive regime should comply with the U.N. Commission of Inquiry's call for investigations concerning the persecution of those who were caught in failed attempts to escape North Korea, the operation of political prison camps and the exploitation of North Korean workers abroad.
They also said the murder of the North Korean leader's estranged half-brother Kim Jong-nam should be defined as state-sponsored terrorism. They urged the U.N. to open an investigation into the case and refer Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court.
They called for improvement for average North Koreans' human rights situations and the democratization of the North Korean society as well.
Regarding the defectors' role, the delegates agreed to make efforts for "The Pyongyang Spring" in cooperation with the international community.
Kim Hyoung-zhin, South Korea's ambassador to Belgium and the EU, said the defectors were the "hard evidence of North Korea's human rights situation and all sorts of other problems."
He said he is thankful to the EU for its support in countering North Korea's nuclear ambitions and showing interest toward Pyongyang's human rights issues.
