National Endowment Democracy to award North Korea human rights activists

May 22 (UPI) -- The National Endowment for Democracy has selected four South Korea-based North Korea human rights organizations for its annual Democracy Awards.

The awards, to be conferred June 13 at NED's headquarters in Washington, are to go to the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, Now Action & Unity for Human Rights, the Transitional Justice Working Group and Unification Media Group, Voice of America reported Tuesday.

All organizations are headquartered in South Korea.

NKHR is the oldest NGO dedicated exclusively to North Korean human rights, founded in 1996.

NAUH, dedicated to youth exchange, will be represented by Ji Seong-ho, a prominent defector who made an appearance during President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address.

Unification Media Group has promoted the free flow of information into North Korea and may be best known for its news service, Daily NK, for using sources in the country to deliver coverage.

According to NED, the awards mark the first time in 15 years North Korean human rights have been recognized since 2003.

"The organizations honored this year for their work to empower defectors, document and advocate for human rights and ensure the free flow of information in and out of North Korea are representative of a larger civil society movement that has greatly increased international understanding of life inside North Korea and opened a window to the outside world for those who remain inside," NED said in its statement.

Lynn Lee, a director at NED, told VOA the organization wants to "honor the North Korean human rights and democracy movement."

NED previously honored Kang Chol-hwan, the activist and author of The Aquariums of Pyongyang.

The award announcement comes at a time when defectors have voiced concerns about their political security in the South.

Heo Kang Il, the defector who left for the South with 12 North Korean waitresses in 2016, interviewed with CNN on Monday.

Heo said he was tricked to defecting by South Korean agents, a claim he made previously with South Korean television network JTBC.

Defectors have said Heo may be under pressure from the North to denounce former President Park Geun-hye and return to the country.