Skip to main content

2018-07-22 Former NK diplomat Thae Yong-ho presentation at TNKR forum

About 40 TNKR volunteers and fans gathered for a donor appreciation event featuring former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho. It was quite an honor to host an event with a person who may be the highest ranking North Korean diplomat to escape. He addressed the theme: "Understanding North Korea: How Information Can Change North Koreans" at a forum that was sponsored by UniKorea.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Thae has joined the TNKR Book Club! He has agreed to sign copies of his book (in Korean) for TNKR donors and fundraisers. The English version of the book is forthcoming.

He addressed many high-level issues related to North Korea, but of course I asked him about TNKR. He gave a fantastic response, demonstrating that he really does understand the way TNKR operates, and that he respects what our team and volunteers have built.

Mr. Thae speaking about TNKR:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-15Bvdq8yY&list=PL-6_xImxyTAJw3qeFJBXFv6fSCFEOb9eG&index=1

 A blog post I posted at the Korea Times, with comments from NK refugees Ken Eom and Eunhee Park. Unthinkable in North Korea: Ordinary and elite defectors mingle in Seoul
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2018/07/728_252978.html






Mr. Thae's presentation
















Photo Time with Thae Yong-ho! He was like a rock star, everyone at the event wanted a photo with him. His security people were nearby, watching everything and everyone.




































Thae Yong-ho took questions for almost an hour.




























Wrap up time! 















Popular posts from this blog

Manufactured cases

My former Cato Institute colleague Bob Levy is profiled by the Associated Press for his role in the challenge to the DC gun ban. One great thing about Levy is that he tells it like it is. As the article quotes: And Levy freely admits the case is manufactured, not one that bubbled up by chance from the district's steady flow of criminal cases involving guns. He wanted presentable plaintiffs to make a case for gun rights, not criminals. "We didn't want crack heads and bank robbers to be poster boys for the Second Amendment," he said. Is there a problem with this case being manufactured? I heard a talking head on the radio complaining a while ago that this case wasn't from real DC residents, that it was from outsiders. What's wrong with that? There may be some times that it takes an outsider to challenge an injustice or bad law. Did DC residents claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was an outsider who should have minded his own business? And about the case being ...
Read more

KC=GQ

I am featured in the April 2013 issue of 2032 Magazine.
Read more

Latest and upcoming

"Escap e from Camp 14," with author Blaine Harden, 10 Maga zine forum, May 3, 2013 (moderator) "Road to Life " radio interview, "This Morning" on TBS eFM, May 1, 2013 (radio interview). "Road to Life"--Rally for North K orean escapees, Seoul, April 30, 2013 (speaker). " On Expertise and Ethics: Tourism in North Korea ," by Alexander James, NK News , April 27, 2013 (quoted) "Casey Lartigue update , " Plan B Lifesty les Radio Show, April 17, 2013. In terview on D reams , 2032 Magazine, April 2013.   "Western tourism on the rise, says N Korea ," by Simon Mundy, The Financial Times, March 15, 2013 (quoted) Liberty Society Emerges as a top global think tank, 2032 Magazine , March 2013 (feature article) Is Touris m in North Korea Really Booming? If tourism is growing, should it be encouraged? , NK News , February 21, 2013 (quoted) There's no place like home, The Korea Times , February 12, 2013 (op-ed) ...
Read more

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...
Read more