Activists Worldwide to Join SAVE NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES DAY: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The North Korea Freedom Coalition (NKFC), joined by activists and nongovernmental organizations in 19 countries and 25 cities around the world, will mark Save North Korean Refugees Day on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, with appeals delivered to Chinese embassies and consulates, demonstrations and prayer gatherings. Participants will urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to end the PRC's forceful repatriation policy and instead allow for North Korean refugees to have safe passage for resettlement in South Korea and other nations.

 

All North Korean refugees are subjected to torture and detention when they are forced back to North Korea by China, and some have been executed for the "crime" of leaving their country to seek a better life. The letter of petition to Xi Jinping cites the highly reported incident that occurred on August 30, 2024, when two North Korean women were tried and later executed while nine others were sent to slower deaths in North Korea's political prison camps to serve life sentences after being forcefully repatriated by the PRC.  These women were part of a group of 600 North Korean refugees that were repatriated late at night on October 9, 2023.

 

These reported cases reflect this ongoing brutality the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK found when it concluded that North Korean refugees repatriated by China face systematic persecution, torture, prolonged arbitrary detention and, in some cases, sexual violence. Those suspected of contact with South Koreans or Christian churches may disappear into political prison camps or face summary execution. The U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: North Korea likewise reported forced labor, torture, forced abortions and sexual abuse in detention and interrogation centers, with some returnees reportedly sent to prison camps.

 

In testimony before a Congressional hearing on September 16, Deborah Choi cited the horrors she personally faced and witnessed when she escaped from North Korea and called for more action to protect the lives of North Koreans.

 

North Korean defectors report that eighty percent of North Korean escapees carry poison to ensure their own deaths if apprehended in the PRC, as they would rather die than be repatriated to the DPRK. 

 

“We must never give up in advocating for these refugees who are facing the risk of repatriation every day. North Koreans need our help now more than ever. We are called to ‘do what is just and right’ and to ‘rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed,’” said Suzanne Scholte, NKFC chair, drawing on Jeremiah 22:3.

Confirmed participating countries so far include Austria, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe.

 

The 25 identified cities where activists will send letters of petition are Berlin, Brasília, Cape Town, Chicago, Durban, Harare, Helsinki, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lilongwe, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, New Delhi, New York, Ottawa, Paris, Pretoria, Seoul, Taipei, The Hague, Vienna, Warsaw and Washington, D.C.

 

Pastor Star Lee of the Esther Prayer Movement will devote their weekly gathering at the Lincoln Memorial at 10:30 AM to the North Korean refugees and feature a message from Scholte. Immediately, after the vigil NKFC will head to the Chinese Embassy for a 1 pm short program and petition delivery. Participants will hear from NKFC’s Esther Kim, whose own niece was forcefully repatriated on the same date as the two women who were executed. To this day, Kim has no idea of the fate of her niece. She will underscore that this issue is about families since most of the refugees are trying to escape to be reunited with their loved ones in South Korea. Others participating in DC include Professor Ok Cha Soh of the Korea-U.S. National Prayer Breakfast who will lead “Amazing Grace,” while Yusook Kim, President of Alliance for Korea United DC, and Kenji Sawai of the Global Peace Foundation, will speak.

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Free North Korea Radio will team up with Kim Tae-hoon and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights to hold a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy on September 22, alongside the regular Tuesday rally for North Korean human rights. Approximately 80 North Korean defectors are expected to participate.

 

Participating organizations include the Central Association of North Korean Defectors, North Korean Human Rights, Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea (Hanbyun), and the Citizens’ Association for a Proper North Korean Human Rights Act and Unification.

Appeal deliveries are planned at the Chinese consulates general in both cities on September 22. Additional participants are welcome; contact Grayson Jang for local arrangements.

Robin Greenspan of New York based PSALT NK (Prayer, Service, Action, Love, Truth for North Korea) will organize an online prayer gathering on September 21 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, corresponding to September 22 at 9:30 a.m. in South Korea. For participation details, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

NKFC is also circulating a letter of petition asking U.S. President Donald Trump to call upon Xi Jinping to end the PRC’s illegal and brutal repatriation policy when they meet at the White House on September 24th. You can view the link at https://nkfc.link/TrumpPetition

 

Grayson Jang | U.S. Correspondent, Free North Korea Radio
graysonjang@defenseforumfoundation.org | +1-512-573-3270