Kang Chol-hwan

He is the author, with Pierre Rigoulot, of The Aquariums of Pyongyang and worked as a staff writer specialized in North Korean affairs for The Chosun Ilbo.

The amount of remittances being sent from Japan to North Korea deteriorated due to the wave of mass imprisonment.

[3] In 1992, Kang and An Hyuk escaped from North Korea by crossing the Yalu River into China.

After publishing The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Kang met with US President George W. Bush[5] and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

[6] He has spoken with several organizations about human rights in North Korea[7][8] and visited Japan for a discussion about abductees.

In 2011, it was assumed that his sister, Mi-ho, and her 11-year-old son are in Yodok concentration camp, having been sent back there as retaliation for Kang's defection.

Kang meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in June 2005.
Kang in 2008