"China must stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors because when they are back in their country, they are considered traitors, they are beaten, tortured, imprisoned and sometimes sentenced to death," said unanimously the members of a delegation of human rights activists from South Korea during a number of meetings that Human Rights Without Frontiers Int'l had arranged for them in Brussels.

On 1-2 July 2008 a delegation of leaders of a coalition of human rights organizations based in South Korea came to Brussels to highlight the issue of human rights in North Korea in a number of European institutions. This was part of a 2-week European cycling tour of Europe meant to raise awareness on this issue in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Great-Britain.

The delegation comprised a dozen members who all have a long experience in the field about the situation of North Korean refugees: CK Park - (Chief Director of "North Korean Human Rigths Database Center") - Rev. Soh Kyung-Suk -- (Chief Director of "Christians for Social Responsibility") - Rev. Kim Kyu-Ho (Director of "Christian for Social Responsibility")- Rev. Peter Jung (Executive Director of "Justice For North Korea") - Ji-Hye Park (International Coordinator of "Justice for North Korea") - Abraham Lee (Founder of the NGO "The Refuge Pnan") - Tim Peters (Founder of the NGO "Helping Hands Korea") and Norbert Vollertsen (German doctor and activist for "North Korean Human Rights") and two North Korean defectors.

The human rights activists were received the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament by people directly involved in relations and projects concerning North Korea and China. Their message was the same everywhere: China must stop the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees because when they are back in their country, they are considered traitors, they are beaten, tortured, imprisoned and sometimes sentenced to death.

The South Korean human rights activists praised the European institutions for their efforts in the promotion of human rights in North Korea and of a better treatment of North Korean refugees in China. "From Brussels, you may not see the results of your work but we can notice some progress in the field, even if they are slow, and you must go on hammering human rights issues in your dialogues with these two countries," said CK Park. "Punishments are now less harsh than 5 years ago when they are back in North Korea; in the run-up to the Olympics, Beijing has reduced the pace of its repatriation policy," he added. "This is of course a fragile process but the pressure must be maintained and every international high-level event organized in China should be used to keep the pressure," Tim Peters commented.

The delegation also attended a lunch conference organized by the European Institute for Asian Studies entitled "Perceptions and perspectives on North Korea." The meeting was chaired by MEP Glyn Ford, author with Soyoung Kwon of the book "North Korea on the brink. Struggle for Survival" (*) and the presentation was given by Allan Maxwell, a former European Commission official and former EU Senior Advisor to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation and E.C. Desk Officer for Korea.

On 2 July, some 70 South Korean human rights activists of all ages – the oldest ones being 74 and 78 years old – arrived directly from the airport to demonstrate for one hour and a half outside of the Chinese Embassy in Brussels. Most of them were in their cycling attire as they were going to travel to The Hague on the same day. Until 15 July, they will raise awareness of public opinion, influential institutions and decision-makers in the Dutch capital city, in Amsterdam, Köln, Geneva, Strasbourg, Paris and London. Several press correspondents in Brussels interviewed the organizers and the leaders of the group during the demonstration.