Interview: Hardwired Global: On the Frontlines of Freedom Interview Series

“Every single country that’s a threat to peace, is a threat to their own people. Without exception.”

Our next guest, Suzanne Scholte, gave North Korean defectors a voice in the U.S. Congress. Suzanne has been standing on the frontlines of freedom for nearly three decades, taking on the North Korea regime, which is perhaps the world’s most oppressive government and worst violator of human rights.

Early in her career, Suzanne was inspired by her faith to help protect the people of North Korea and alleviate their suffering. During our conversation, Suzanne shares how she channeled this calling in many ways, including through her work building the North Korea Freedom Coalition and Free North Korea Radio, which brought attention back to the brutal dictators of North Korea and exposed more North Korean people to the freedom they should have from learning more about the outside world.

Suzanne brought North Korean defectors before Congress to testify for the very first time in 1996. She shares a few of the hundreds of stories of starvation, trafficking and oppression she’s heard over the years. In honor of the upcoming 19th Annual North Korean Freedom Week, we hope your hearts are inspired by the heartbreaking truths of this interview. Suzanne also shares a glimpse into her other work with the people of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi’s, which inhabit one of the longest permanent refugee settlements in the world.

Chapters include:

1. (0:00) Suzanne’s Faith Motivates Her Advocacy

2. (08:51) “Every Single Country that is a Threat to Peace is also a Threat to its Own People”

3. (16:27) The First North Korean Defectors to Tell Their Stories

4. (19:45) Broadcasting North Korean Defectors’ Stories into North Korea

5. (24:10) North Korea Freedom Week

6. (27:37) Trafficking North Korean Women Into China

7. (33:30) North Korean Mother Imprisoned and Tortured for Trying to Feed Her Family

8. (39:41) North Korea: The Only Country in the World That Does Not Enjoy a Single Human Right

9. (45:41) Grassroots Volunteers Who Promote Human Rights for the North Korean People

10. (52:28) Sneaking Flash Drives with Information, Movies, and Kpop into North Korea

11. (55:38) The Dogs in China Eat Better Than Doctors in North Korea

12. (58:21) Pres. Trump’s Policy Favoring Moroccan Occupation Needs Reversing

13. (1:01:43) Polisario Soldiers Risked Their Lives to Save a Man With No Legs