36
950 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENT, 2d SERIES
2011) (same). A declaration certifying under penalty of perjury that the translation
of the decision is true and correct accompanies the decision and suffices to establish its accuracy. See 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
Recited below, without an attempt to parse
the admissibility of all of it, is the evidence
presented by the plaintiffs.
North Korean refugees who were able
to escape to China would stay in secret
safe-houses that non-governmental organizations and religious humanitarian groups
had established or that Chinese locals in
the area with ethnic Korean descent would
support. Report of Yoshikuni Yamamoto
(‘‘Yamamoto Decl.’’) ¶ 17. In response, the
DPRK established a network of local
agents in China under DPRK’s security
services to abduct defectors and the humanitarian workers who assisted them.
Id. ¶¶ 18, 23. On September 17, 2002,
DPRK leader Kim Jong–Il admitted publicly to Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan
that DPRK security services had engaged
in kidnapping Japanese citizens between
1977 and 1983. Declaration of Ernest C.
Downs (‘‘Downs Decl.’’) ¶ 20.
In 1993, Reverend Kim moved to China
to work as a missionary providing humanitarian and religious services to the families
of North Korean defectors and refugees
who had fled across the Sino–Korean border seeking asylum. Yamamoto Decl.
¶ 20. He had previously worked with the
Special Olympics in China and worked to
raise money for medical supplies for needy
children. He learned of the plight of
North Korean refugees and at once committed himself to aid this disadvantaged
community. Declaration of Han Kim
(‘‘Han Decl.’’) ¶¶ 19, 21. Reverend Kim
set up numerous refugee shelters and a
school for expatriate North Korean children and handicapped persons in the Chinese town of Yanji. He named the school
the ‘‘School of Love.’’ Yamamoto Decl.
¶ 20.
DPRK intelligence agent Hua was convicted on April 21, 2005 by a South Korean
Court in Seoul, for his involvement in planning and executing various abductions of
civilians from China to North Korea following the instructions of a senior DPRK
intelligence official. South Korean court
decision at 1. One of the crimes for which
Hua was convicted was his direct involvement in planning and carrying out the
abduction of Reverend Kim. Id. at 2. Hua
was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Id. at 1. The plaintiffs allege that agents
prosecuted for abducting Reverend Kim
provided information concerning Reverend
Kim’s torture in North Korea, and cite to
the South Korean court decision for support. Pls.’ Proposed Facts at 8; Revised
Proposed Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law at 18. However, the court
decision makes no reference to Reverend
Kim being tortured in North Korea.
Members of the United States Congress
have investigated the DPRK policy of abducting foreigners and have issued various
resolutions regarding the issue. On June
11, 2002, the House of Representatives
issued a resolution urging the governments of the United States, South Korea
and China to seek a full accounting from
the DPRK regarding the whereabouts of
Reverend Kim. Downs Decl. ¶ 25, Ex. A.
On July 11, 2005, the House of Representatives issued a resolution condemning the
DPRK’s use of abductions and demanding
the return of individuals being held in
North Korea. Id. ¶ 25, Ex. C. On January
28, 2005, an Illinois congressional delegation, including then-United States Senator
Barack Obama, sent a letter to North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations
Pak Gil Yon, which specifically asked that
North Korea forthwith investigate the circumstances of Reverend Kim’s abduction
and fate, and which stated that its signatories would not support the removal of the
DPRK from the State Department’s list of