WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump again talked about the plight of North Koreans Thursday as he referenced the story of a defector who suffered abuse under the totalitarian regime.
Addressing the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Trump reminded attendees of Ji Seong-ho, the North Korean defector who was invited to the president's State of the Union address last week.
Ji lost his left leg and arm in a train accident during a famine in North Korea in the 1990s, and images of the defector holding up his crutches to applause at Trump's address covered newspapers the following day.
This AFP photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meeting with North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho (L), with an interpreter, at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Feb. 2, 2018. (Yonhap)
"Last week, during the State of the Union, the world was inspired by the story of a North Korean defector, Mr. Ji Seong-ho, who is now back in South Korea," Trump said at a Washington hotel. "Before his escape, when Seong-ho was being tortured by North Korean officials, there was one thing that kept him from losing hope: Over and over again he recited the Lord's Prayer."
Trump continued: "He prayed for peace and he prayed for freedom. And now, as you know, Seong-ho is free and a symbol of hope to millions of people all around the world."
Trump's condemnation of North Korea's human rights situation is seen as an effort to increase pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
On Friday, he invited eight North Korean defectors, including Ji, to the White House to hear each of their stories.
"We know that millions of people in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and other countries suffer under repressive and brutal regimes," Trump said. "America stands with all people suffering oppression and religious persecution."
North Korea is accused of gross human rights violations ranging from torture and rape to public executions and forced labor. Pyongyang bristles at the charges, calling them a U.S.-led campaign to topple its regime.
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