[imText1]Defector NGOs gathered their members in front of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense on Friday morning to assert with one voice that the Cheonan tragedy was the work of North Korea.
The NGOs made a joint statement at the protest, “Kim Jong Il, Do Not Behave So Outrageously!” Reading the statement, Kim Young Soon of the Committee for Democratization of North Korea and herself a former Yoduk Camp prisoner said, “We know intuitively that it was a cruel act by Kim Jong Il,” adding, “Is there anyone who would carry out such a dirty move besides Kim Jong Il?”
In the joint statement, she explained what leading defectors believe were the causes of the Cheonan incident, “As the people got angrier about the failed currency redenomination, Kim Jong Il tried to create fear of war among the people, thus strengthening his control.”
The defectors additionally pointed the finger at pro-North Korean activists in the South, asserting that they share responsibility “for the victims of the Cheonan and the starvation of millions of people.”
Park Sang Hak, president of the Free North Korea Movement, said, “From May 10th, we will send balloons to North Korea containing leaflets entitled, ‘Warriors of the Cheonan, South Korea Will Avenge You.’ If the direction of the wind is right, we will send balloons every day.”
Other participating defector organizations at the event were the Committee for Democratization of North Korea, Free North Korea Broadcasting, Democracy Network against North Korean Gulag, North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, and North Korea Reform Broadcasting.
