Ji Seong-ho, one of President Donald Trump’s guests at his first State of the Union address Tuesday, held high the crutches he used to trek thousands of miles across China and Southeast Asia — crutches he also kept as a reminder of how far he’s come since his torture by North Korea.
Trump told the story of Ji and how he bore witness “to the ominous nature” of the North Korean regime and emerged ready to help rescue other defectors. Ji’s story “is a testament to the yearning of every human soul to live in freedom,” the president told the American people.
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“In 1996, Seong-ho was a starving boy in North Korea. One day, he tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of food, which were very hard to get,” the president said Tuesday night. “In the process, he passed out on the train tracks, exhausted from hunger. He woke up as a train ran over his limbs.”
Ji suffered through multiple amputations “without anything to dull the pain or hurt,” Trump said, noting that the young man’s brother and sister “gave what little food they had to help him recover” while eating mere dirt themselves, “permanently stunting their own growth.”
Later, Ji was tortured by North Korean authorities after he returned from a brief visit to China.
“His tormentors wanted to know if he had met any Christians,” Trump said. “He had — and he resolved after that to be free.”
Using his crutches, Ji traveled thousands of miles and escaped to freedom. While most of his family members were able to follow him, his father was tortured to death after attempting to escape from North Korea.
“Today [Ji] lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears most — the truth,” Trump said. “Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep those old crutches as a reminder of how far you’ve come. Your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all.”
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The president condemned North Korea and its “depraved” quest for nuclearization, noting that “no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.”
Trump also highlighted the tragedy that befell former University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier and his family at the hand of the brutal regime. While studying abroad, Warmbier joined a tour in North Korea and at its conclusion was arrested and charged with committing crimes against the state.
“After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor, before returning him to America last June — horribly injured and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return,” Trump said.
Warmbier’s parents and his brother and sister also attended the State of the Union address as Trump’s guests.
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“You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires us all,” Trump said. “Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto’s memory with total American resolve.”
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
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