House Foreign Affairs East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee Chair Young Kim hosted the 23rd annual North Korea Freedom Week Roundtable on Apr. 29, joining eleven North Korean defectors to discuss human rights abuses under the current regime and call for congressional action.
The event highlighted ongoing concerns about conditions in North Korea and emphasized the need for legislative measures to support those seeking freedom. Lawmakers were urged to pass the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2025, a bill led by Kim that aims to continue and strengthen provisions first established in 2004.
Participants at the roundtable described harsh living conditions, systemic repression, and constant surveillance experienced by ordinary citizens in North Korea. Their accounts illustrated what supporters say is a pressing moral issue for U.S. policymakers.
“Kim Jong Un knows nothing but power and is hellbent on lining his own pockets and expanding his nuclear arsenal at the expense of his own people. The gross human rights abuses perpetuated on the North Korean people cannot be tolerated,” said Chairwoman Young Kim. “Hearing directly from defectors is a powerful reminder of what’s at stake and why we must stand with the freedom-loving people trapped under this brutal regime. I’m proud to lead the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act to ensure the United States continues to take action and hold Kim Jong Un accountable.”
Young Kim currently serves in Congress representing California’s 40th district after replacing Gil Cisneros in 2021, according to Wikipedia. She has held her seat since then following earlier service in California’s State Assembly from 2014 to 2016 as reported by Congress.gov. Born in Incheon, South Korea in 1962, she now lives in La Habra as noted by Biographical Directory of Congress. According to the University of Southern California, she graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1985.
Supporters say that continued attention on human rights issues remains important amid ongoing reports from defectors about life inside North Korea.
