People from North Korea

"I hear from higher up that China seems to be succeeding on many fronts – engineering, commerce, hotels, agriculture - everything. In many ways, don’t we need to take them as a model example for us?"

"It is the party’s steadfast determination to ensure that the people will never have to tighten their belt again."

"Yesterday, we were a weak and small country trampled upon by big powers. Today, our geopolitical location remains the same, but we are transformed into a proud political and military power and an independent people that no one can dare provoke. The days are gone forever when our enemies could blackmail us with nuclear bombs."

"The effort to develop the economy and improve the people’s standard of living can be successful only when it is backed by powerful military capabilities, nuclear forces. In the spirit with which we conquered outer space and with the mettle with which we succeeded in the nuclear test of a high level, we must push ahead simultaneously with the campaign to defend the country and the construction of an economic giant, and thus achieve the happiness of the people and the prosperity of the powerful Paektusan nation without fail."

"President Donald Trump's remarks which described the U.S. option through straightforward expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last. [...] Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say. [...] I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue. Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation. I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire."

"In no way would the United States dare to ignite a war against me and our country. The whole of its mainland is within the range of our nuclear strike and the nuclear button is on my office desk all the time; the United States needs to be clearly aware that this is not merely a threat but a reality."

"I know the Americans are inherently disposed against us, but when they talk with us, they will see that I am not the kind of person who would shoot nuclear weapons to the south, over the Pacific or at the United States."

"Only when one is equipped with the formidable striking capabilities, overwhelming military power that cannot be stopped by anyone, one can prevent a war, guarantee the security of the country and contain and put under control all threats and blackmails by the imperialists."

"Few Americans can remember when the United States was not the richest and most powerful nation on the planet, and most Americans have similarly considered their country the champion of democracy and the foremost defender of liberty in the world. Now however instead of “making the world safe for democracy,” it may become the arsenal of tyranny that undermines freedom far and wide. For if democracy is overthrown in America, that will embolden authoritarian movements around the world. Every free country has seedlings of authoritarians determined to grow mighty, and nothing would be more encouraging to them than having democracy crumble in the United States. Furthermore, even democracies that were not destabilized would likely find a totalitarian America viewed them with enmity. Our long-standing allies got a preview of the hostility that demagogues feel toward free nations when Donald Trump withdrew from international accords, threatened old alliances, sucked up to Vladimir Putin and “fell in love” with the brutal killer, Kim Jong-Un."

"Friedman: In an op-ed in 2013 in the Los Angeles Times, you wrote, “South Africa has illustrated that long-term security can be far better assured by the abrogation of nuclear weapons than by their retention.” It seems that Kim Jong Un of North Korea has, at least according to his propaganda, learned the opposite lesson: that if you’re [Libya’s Muammar] Qaddafi or Saddam [Hussein in Iraq] and you give up your [pursuit of] nuclear weapons, you reduce your security [and bring about your demise at the hands of the U.S. and its allies]. Or if you’re Ukraine and you sign up to the Budapest Memorandum, and then Russia two decades later invades you, that you’ve actually given up security by relinquishing nuclear weapons."

"I think that Mr Kim Jong Un has obviously won this round. He has completed his strategic task: he has a nuclear weapon, he has missiles of global reach, up to 13,000 km, which can reach almost any point of the globe. He is an absolutely competent and already mature politician."

"How many guys- he was like twenty-six or twenty-five when his father died- take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden... he goes in, he takes over, and he's the boss. It's incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn't play games, and we can't play games with him."

"Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!"

"He's the head of a country, and I mean he's the strong head, don't let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same."

"I was really tough and so was he, and we went back and forth, and then we fell in love, OK? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters. We fell in love."

"The reason why I gave up all the privileges and economic benefits was that I felt I could not let my sons lead a life like me, as a modern-day slave. I believed the best legacy I could leave for my sons was to give them the freedom that is so common to everyone in America."

"I could not take back the happy smiles of my sons by bringing them back to North Korea. I could not force my sons to pretend to be loyal to Kim Jong Un and the North Korean system and to shout "Long live the supreme leader Kim Jong Un!", "Long live the socialist paradise of the DPRK!" – like I did all my life."

"I often was asked questions by my British friends which caught me flat footed. Trying to justify the North Korean system when, deep down, I knew their concerns were fair and legitimate."

"While Kim Jong Un has already long had the tools to destroy South Korea effectively, he also believes it is necessary to drive American forces out of the peninsula. And this can be done, he believes, by being able to credibly threaten the continental United States with nuclear weapons. On top of the thousands of artillery pieces and short-range missile capabilities long held on the North Korean side, the potential deployment of battle-ready nuclear ICBMs means the threat is not only towards South Korea, but also towards America."

"German reunification could not have been achieved if the Hungarian government did not open its border with Austria to provide an exit route for the East German people."

"The world was united to abolish the South African apartheid. Now it is time for the world to stop the widespread and systematic human rights violations in North Korea, which are tantamount to the crimes committed by the Nazis."

"I appeal to you that every Christian you are in contact with around the world, make freedom of religion in North Korea an issue. Make the situation known, ask them to pray. Keep reminding so that something will happen."

"I am a target of these North Korean threats and of course there is anxiety that I experience. But we know that the North Korean people are watching us and cheering us on and by knowing this we can overcome these fears of intimidation. We know that what we are doing and how we do it with the North Korean society, they will experience change from within. So the harder we push, the harder we will try."

"Getting to freedom is only half the battle. Many North Koreans are separated from their families, and when they arrive in a new country, they start with little or no money. So we can benefit from the international community for education, English language training, job training, and more. We can also act as a bridge between the people inside North Korea and the outside world. Because many of us stay in contact with family members still inside, and we send information and money that is helping to change North Korea from inside."

"As an intellectual I have the responsibility to be part of this movement and I think that it is my fate or destiny to be part of these activities. Overall, the main reason why I engaged in these activities was because I learned to be angry at the North Korean system."

"After reunification, after the North Korean regime collapses, the North Korean people will come and see this affluence and they're going to ask you, “What did you do when we were suffering back in North Korea?” What kind of answer should we give to them?"

"When I was in Moscow many people made severe criticisms about North Korea but you feel a more patriotic man when you're abroad. I thought, 'Whatever they say, I will not be concerned, I will do my best, be loyal, and serve my country with my musical ability. I began to realise I would have to sacrifice many things to live as a pianist in North Korea, and I felt disillusioned"

"I want to say something to my fellow North Koreans who are living in that darkness. They might not believe this, but I want to tell them that an alternative life is possible. Be free. From my experience, literally anything is possible. I was bought, I was sold as a slave. But now I'm here, and that is why I believe in miracles. The one thing that I learned from history is that nothing is forever in this world. And that is why we have every reason to be hopeful."

"The first thing my mom taught me as a young girl was not to even wisper, because the birds and mice could hear me. [...] My mom said that 'The most powerful weapon you have in your body is your tounge. Watch out what you say!' Even subconsciously you know how not to think bad things about the regime."

"The UN is literally the most useless organization I have ever seen in my life. Literally."

"[About the United Nations:] In the name of diplomacy, they solve nothing and they keep legitimizing the Chinese government and North Korean regime, and they are part of it. Their vote means as much as [the American vote]. It shouldn't be that way. Their vote shouldn't mean nothing. [...] They are not normal regimes. They are like gangsters. They are Mafia. And the UN legitimize them. [...] They don't do anything. They do so much [more] harm than [they do] good in the world. I still don't know how more people are not realizing this."

"In North Korea, I lived as Kim Il-sung's robot. In South Korea, I got to live a new life."

"Can my sins be pardoned? They probably won't be."

"I wasn't even allowed time to say goodbye to my friends, I was just told to pack. I was given one last night with my family."

"I was told by a senior officer that before the Seoul Olympics we would take down a South Korean airliner. He said it would create chaos and confusion in South Korea. The mission would strike a severe blow for the revolution."

"When I confessed, I did so reluctantly. I thought my family in North Korea would be in danger; it was a big decision to confess. But I began to realise it would be the right thing to do for the victims, for them to be able to understand the truth."

"Kim Il-sung was a god-like figure. Anything that was ordered by him could be justified. Any order would be carried out with extreme loyalty. You were ready to sacrifice your life."

"There is no other country like North Korea. People outside can't understand. The whole country is set up to show loyalty to the Kim royal family. It's like a religion. People are so indoctrinated. There are no human rights, no freedoms."

"North Korea is in a desperate situation. Discontent with Kim Jong-un is so high; he has to put a lid on it. The only thing he has is nuclear weapons. That's why he has created this sense of war, to try to rally the population. He's doing business with his nuclear weapons."

"North Korea is using the Olympics as a weapon. It’s trying to escape the sanctions by holding hands with South Korea, trying to break free from international isolation."

"When I was given the mission, my role was to disrupt the Seoul Olympics. North Korea thought that hosting the Olympics would permanently divide the Koreas ... and make South Korea more economically powerful than the North. So I was ordered to harm the ‘South Korean puppets’ by hitting the flight."

"My mission was personally signed by Kim Jong-il. At the time, he oversaw all matters relating to South Korea. Living in North Korea is like being in huge prison and being treated like slaves. You didn’t question an order."

"I was brainwashed that giving my life carrying out a mission ordered by the Kim family is an honor. So I took the mission thinking that the bombing will bring revolution in Korea and will contribute to the reunification of the Koreas."

"The moment I boarded the flight I was thinking, 'This is an enemy state'. But then, placing the bomb, I was nervous, anxious, scared of being caught. I had a brief moment thinking that all the people in this plane will die, but I was frightened to even have such feelings. I wasn’t supposed to have such feelings. I was trained only to take orders like a robot. I tried to get rid of the feelings by thinking that for the sake of reunification these people had to be sacrificed. In North Korea, you can’t have these doubts, because if you do, it means your ideology has been corrupted and you’ll be executed or sent to a prison camp."

"North Korea won’t give up its nuclear weapons. They’re its lifeline."