First lady Kim Keon Hee speaks during a meeting with North Korean defectors and human rights activists at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, Thursday (local time). Joint Press Corps

First lady Kim Keon Hee condemned the widespread human rights abuses in North Korea during a meeting with defectors and human rights activists at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Kim, who accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol on his official trip to Washington to attend the 2024 NATO summit, met with defectors for the second consecutive year to draw attention to human rights violations in the reclusive state.

“Recent reports claim that North Korea publicly executed about 30 middle school students for watching South Korean dramas. This highlights the cruel reality of North Korea,” Kim said.

She emphasized that the Yoon administration is committed to improving the human rights situation of the North Korean people more than any previous administration.

“We will never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the North Korean people,” Kim said. “Let’s work together with non-governmental organizations and civic activists in the international community to raise awareness and amplify the voices of North Korean escapees to improve human rights situation in North Korea.”

Kim held talks with Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto Warmbier who died in 2017 after being imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster during his trip to Pyongyang.

She also met North Korean human rights activist Dr. Suzanne Scholte and several defectors including Ji Hanna, who shared her story of being sent to a political prison camp for studying the Bible, and another defector surnamed Kim, who fled by sea with his entire family last year.

After listening to defectors about their ordeals, the first lady said they are a beacon of hope to people seeking freedom and their bravery could change North Korea in the future.

Established in 1983, the NED is a non-profit organization that has been supporting North Korean defectors as part of its efforts to spread democratic values around the world.

A day prior, Kim participated in a 2024 NATO Summit Spousal Program Event. On Monday, she visited the Korean Christian Church founded in 1918 by Syngman Rhee in Honolulu and thanked overseas Koreans in Hawaii for their contribution to the South Korea-U.S. alliance.