NKnet researcher Kim Young Hwan, who was released late last week after 114 days in Chinese detention, finally revealed some of the details of his imprisonment at a press conference today, announcing that “There was cruel treatment during the initial investigation.”
“Until April 28th, during the period of my investigation by the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), I suffered cruel treatment,” he recounted. However, “The conditions placed on my release by the Chinese side demanded that I remain silent on that cruel treatment and that I admit I violated domestic Chinese law.”
He went on to say, “After being moved to Dandong Detention Center on April 28th, 70% of the investigation was about persuading me to keep quiet about the cruel treatment.”
Kim confirmed that the other three men detained with him were also victims of the same cruel treatment, which included being forced to sleep in an upright position. One of the three, Yoo Jae Kil, is still receiving hospital treatment due to complications arising from the treatment he suffered.
While being transferred to the South Korean government at the airport in Shenyang, Kim strongly protested to an official from the MSS about his mistreatment. At that time, he is known to have used the word ‘torture’ to describe what happened, though he did not use the word today.
Kim said, “I was advised that if I were to speak in detail about the cruel treatment I got in China, then the North Korean human rights problem might get buried beneath the Chinese human rights problem.“
However, when one reporter questioned Kim as to the nature of the abuse, whether it included physical brutality or was just restricted to deprivation, Kim revealed that it included both.
Kim also spoke in more detail about the circumstances surrounding his arrest. “At the time, the Chinese authorities had received a request from the National Security Agency and were closely monitoring one man who was involved with North Korean human rights activities in China,” he noted. “The person they were keeping surveillance on was one of the three men who came back with me, and it seems that anyone who was directly or indirectly involved with him was arrested at the same time.”
“My guess is that around 7 to 10 people were rounded up at that time,” Kim recalled. “Amongst them, three were South Koreans and one was Chinese, but those four individuals were released after a week of investigation, the Chinese authorities having concluded that they had nothing to do with us.”
“The Chinese state security agency claimed that they had arrested that one guy because he was in danger from the North Korean NSA,” Kim said. “However, considering that the guy’s movements and whatever had been under security agency surveillance for 3 months, it is highly likely that the Chinese security agents were in fact in cooperation with their North Korean counterparts.”
Kim, Yoo Jae Kil and Kang Shin Sam were arrested on March 29th after meeting together in Dalian and then breaking up to travel to other locations. Kim was arrested by agents while in a taxi, Kang was arrested in a Dalian hotel, and Yoo was also arrested around that time. The fourth man, Lee Sang Yong was arrested in his Dandong accommodation on the basis that he had met the man the MSS had been watching.
Speaking at today’s press conference, Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae Kyung declared, “It was a big mistake that China applied the crime of ‘violating state security’ to Mr. Kim Young Hwan. In particular, it is unacceptable in international custom to deny interviews with lawyers and family visits. China needs to apologize for this.”
“Obtaining North Korean human rights information and participating in North Korean human rights activities does not threaten China’s sovereignty or security,” he pointed out.
During his detention, the hastily-convened ‘Committee for the Release of North Korean Human Rights Activist Kim Young Hwan’ submitted a petition to the ‘UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’ and made requests of diplomatic officials for cooperation. In addition, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea and various other international NGOs actively worked to help secure their release.
