As Kim Young Hwan, the head researcher of the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights, said, “Will young Kim Jong Un want to act only as a beggar’s leader?,” he predicted that the North Korean regime will continue to try to reform and open up. However, he suggested that because of the North Korean regime’s extreme illegality and corruption, the unstable system, the lack of knowledge of the ability to lead an open country, etc., the chances of North Korea’s reform and opening up succeeding seemed unlikely.

 

On the 25th, Kim Young Hwan attended an open radio broadcast, which was sponsored by Association of Broadcasters for North Korea, and answered questions about the changes recently implemented by North Korea’s leader.

 

Ha Tae Kyung, the 19th assemblyman who also attended the open radio broadcast agreed with Kim’s analysis, and said that Kim Jong Eun’s present move to reform and open up can lead North Korea to instability.

 

Kim Young Hwan and Ha Tae Kyung talked about the topic, 'Human Rights and their connection to North Koreans' in the first session, and the second session proceeded with the topic, 'The Korean Wave and its connection to North Koreans.'

 

In the second session, there was a testimonial-type discussion between defectors who had listened to South Korean radio in North Korea.

 

Park Sung Jin, who escaped North Korea in 2006, testified that, “Through South Korean radio programs, I realized how corrupt Kim Jong Il was.” Also, he said that his peers in North Korea already knew about the results of the South Korean presidential election in which President Roh was elected before the regime had broadcast the news. This shows that listening to the South Korean radio is a normal activity in North Korea.

 

The open radio broadcast to North Korea, 'Human Rights and their Connection to the Korean Wave,' was one of the events of the North Korean Human Rights Month, and was also led by a member of ICNK’s secretariat, Open Radio for North Korea.