I’m out of things to say. I think I’ve said everything that needs to be said about about this issue.

So unless someone wants to take over the blog, I’m shuttering it.

But that is not the end of the story.

For years, I’ve urged people to take action on one of the most pressing human rights issue in the world. Awareness is important, but it only really matters if it translates into action.

I’ve had this blog for over 3 years now, I’m one of the most aware persons. Why am I not doing anything?

So this morning on my way to work, I thought about what I can do. I don’t have a lot of money, nor do I have a lot of time. And I’m certain there many people in this country with the same situation. So what can I do make the most out of what I have?

I remembered an old post on microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus. And I also know the microfinance site, Kiva.

What if we find North Koreans hiding in China and finance their escape to safety, and recoup our loan long after they reach it?

Obviously, there are major risks involved. And it will no doubt be a tough sell. There is no guarantee that the North Koreans we fund will make it to safety, we can only maximize their chances of success. And the thought of poor North Koreans paying off rich westerns like me is unappealing.

But what are the alternatives? The current model of charity relies purely on faith that one’s contribution will make a difference. And with loans instead of gifts, we can maximize what meager resources in order to help others escape.

There are plenty questions that need to be asked. How much does it cost to get one North Korean out of the country? How can we finance children? When they do succeed, how do refugees, facing social isolation and meager employment, plan to pay off that loan?

They say freedom is priceless, but I plan to put one anyway and hope for both refugees and lenders, it is worth the price. I don’t consider it immoral, but others may disagree.

There is much research I have to do. I’ll have to find honest brokers. I’ll have to find ways to communicate with both refugees and lenders without comprising refugee’s safety. I’ll have to provide information to lender that their loans are worth it without giving too much information (like real names).

Hopefully, these questions will be answered and I will launch my new initiative and put my own money on the line to see if this is a sustainable model.

It’s my turn to act.

Now that the Ling and Lee stories are behind us, let us not forget that journalism inside North Korea is still active. These North Korean journalists are risking more than abduction

Reporting from Seoul – Editor Jiro Ishimaru dimmed the lights and started the shaky video clip before a roomful of North Korea experts.

The footage, taken surreptitiously from a speeding motorcycle, was jarring: It showed the Soonchun Vinylon factory, which many defectors claim has been secretly used to produce lethal chemicals, including nerve gas. But the video showed a deserted complex slouching forlornly on a weed-strewn stretch of countryside.

The experts sat wide-eyed. They had heard rumors of the factory’s fate, but this was their first real evidence.

The images will soon be featured in an issue of Rimjingang, a magazine published in Japan that offers a highly intimate look inside North Korea. What makes it all the more remarkable is that the quarterly publication consists of articles written not by outsiders, but by a few North Koreans, farmers and factory workers who risk their lives to provide poignant vignettes and hard-news accounts of life in their reclusive homeland.

Give them your support, because if they’re caught, nobody can save them and nobody will be able to remember them.

Look forward to the English edition of Rimjingang.

We’ve heard of these North Korea logging camps, this is the first substantial documentary about them

To the West, North Korea is a pariah state, best known for its secrecy, famines, belligerent politics and its leader’s brutality.

At home, North Koreans live under total government control and the watchful eye of the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il.

But in the Amur region of Russia, almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the border, North Korea has created a home away from home at a series of remote logging camps in which nearly 1,500 workers are employed.

I travelled to one of the camps deep in the forest. A giant monument bearing the words “Our greatest leader Kim Il-sung lives with us forever” stood in the middle.

One of the buildings had a sign which read “Laboratory of Kim Il-sung’s Theory” a commonly used slogan found on North Korean administration blocks. The camp even had its own theatre.

Further into the forest we found a group of North Koreans hard at work. They lived in a mobile wagon, decorated with portraits of the North Korean leaders.

Although reluctant to speak, one told me that he earned the equivalent of $200 per month. Another said that he earned $1 for each truck he loaded and that he could load up to nine per day, but he had not been paid since May.

Like trafficking of North Korean women in China, Russia’s North Korean logging camps have to do with addressing Russia’s shrinking population.

Be sure watch the actual video on the page.