Baes

SEOUL, Nov. 20 (UPI) — Kenneth Bae, the Korean-American missionary who endured 735 days as a political prisoner in North Korea, is now leading a renewed international effort to realize a unified Korean Peninsula.

Bae, 57, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the longest-held American citizen in North Korea since the Korean War — an experience he now views as a mission to become a “voice for the voiceless” North Korean people.

Bae’s ordeal began in 2012 when he was arrested while leading his 18th “Love DPRK Tour” group. He was charged with “conspiracy to overthrow the state” and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. He became the first U.S. citizen to be confined to a North Korean kyohwaso, or re-education camp.

“The ultimate charge was that I had tried to overthrow the North Korean regime through prayer and worship,” Bae said in an interview. His unintentional mistake was bringing an external hard drive containing a documentary that showed the suffering of ordinary North Koreans, which became evidence for the regime’s accusations.

Before his arrest, the “Love DPRK Tour” was focused less on proselytizing and more on cultural exchange and prayer for the land. Bae took some 300 people from 17 countries over two years to engage in activities like making kimchi, learning traditional dance and simply “walking the land” while praying for the North Korean people.

He was released in 2014 after a high-level diplomatic intervention led by then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, an event that highlighted his strong, enduring ties to Washington policymakers.

New focus: from defector aid to unification

After his release, Bae initially established the Nehemiah Global Initiative in South Korea, primarily focusing on aiding North Korean defectors with settlement, education and even the financial support needed to rescue family members from third countries. Over eight years, NGI provided English education to about 800 young defectors.

In 2022, he rebranded the organization as the New Korea Foundation International, signaling a critical shift in focus. While support for defectors continues, the core mission is now actively preparing for reunification and the reconstruction of North Korea.

“Reunification is not an option; it is a necessity and a mission for our people,” Bae said, emphasizing the stark difference between his two years of captivity and the seven decades the North Korean populace has lived without freedom.

He insists on a South Korea-led unification that is welcomed by North Korean citizens and supported by the international community. He stresses that the true “target of unification” is the North Korean populace, not the Pyongyang regime.

Mobilizing global support: the “One Korea” campaign

The foundation launched the New Korea Unification Campaign under the slogan, “One State, One Nation, One Future, One Korea.” The campaign is a comprehensive, multi-faceted effort to build global consensus for a free and democratic unified Korea.

The campaign offers three primary ways to participate: sign, give and serve.

• It urges global citizens to join the Signature Campaign (Petition movement) to showcase worldwide support and to join the Nehemiah Prayer Pledge.

This prayer movement, originally launched by Bae’s founding organization, the Nehemiah Global Initiative, already has garnered 6,500 signatures from 75 countries to pray for the people of North Korea and for unification.

• The New Korea Gospel Broadcast is a cornerstone project, a planned U.S.-based AM Christian broadcast intended to reach North Koreans with information about the outside world and the Christian Gospel.

Recognizing the challenges and interruptions faced by official broadcasts like the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, this private-sector effort aims to maintain a vital source of outside information.

The broadcast will share “letters of hope,” directly inspired by the hundreds of letters Bae received while imprisoned. To fund this critical initiative, the foundation is seeking 1,000 people to contribute $20 per month.

• Other core campaign projects include Raising the Reunification Reconstruction Fund to support relief for refugees, the Human Rights Advocacy Movement and the Nehemiah Scholarship for defectors.

Urgency of the three-year window

Bae views the current geopolitical climate as critical, warning against the danger of the peninsula’s division becoming permanent through the “Two States” theory. He believes that if the two-state narrative is allowed to solidify, it would be a moral “betrayal” of the North Korean people.

He strongly urges the younger generation in South Korea to reject the notion that unification is a financial burden, arguing instead that North Korea is a “land of opportunity.”

“With its natural resources and a combined population exceeding 80 million, a unified Korea would become a powerful and prosperous nation,” he asserted.

He sees the next three years as a crucial window to prevent the permanent entrenchment of the division. Bae is actively appealing to U.S. leaders and policymakers for their support of the Unification Campaign, emphasizing his strong personal connections to American officials and his belief that global consensus is paramount.

Bae believes that by focusing on creating interest, knowing the situation and action, the Korean people and the international community can ensure the path to a single, free Korea remains open.

For more information on the New Korea Unification Campaign, visit the New Korea Foundation International website: newkoreafi.org.