"North Korea Likely to Open Borders in Second Half of Year"…Concerns Over Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors from China

Source says "Human traffic to resume around Asian Games"
Estimated 2,000 North Korean defectors detained in Chinese detention facilities
"International community must raise voices against forced repatriation"

There is a prospect that North Korea will open its border around September, when the Asian Games are held in China. As concerns grow that a large number of North Korean defectors detained in China will be forcibly repatriated, voices are calling for our government to clearly demand China to uphold the principle of prohibiting forced repatriation.

According to sources on North Korea on the 27th, there are talks that North Korea will allow human traffic again from around September this year, after closing the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The source said, "The timing of the border opening is around September, when the Hangzhou Asian Games are held," adding, "Because the fear of COVID-19 resurgence is so great, even if the border opens, it will be opened gradually and in stages." They also predicted, "I think there will be a replacement of overseas diplomatic personnel first, followed by the repatriation of defectors."

In September 2018, North Korean women dressed in hanbok participated in the "International March for Peace, Prosperity, and Reunification of Korea" held on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
[Image source=AFP·Getty image]

North Korea has locked its border for more than three years since blocking it due to the spread of COVID-19. Although there were prospects of reopening the border from early this year, the resurgence of COVID-19 in China is said to have delayed the opening. Recently, there have been reports that the customs connecting Nanping in Jilin Province and Musan in North Hamgyong Province have opened, so whether human traffic will resume in the second half of the year seems to depend on the spread of COVID-19.

Once the North Korea-China border opens and human traffic begins, the first to be at risk will be North Korean defectors in China. It is known that more than 2,000 defectors have been detained in detention facilities in China since the COVID-19 outbreak, and there is a possibility that they will be forcibly repatriated in large numbers. Some express concerns that the revised Chinese Anti-Espionage Law, which will take effect from the 1st of next month, will also threaten rescue activities for defectors in border areas.

The international community has been voicing criticism of China’s forced repatriation policy. At the end of last month, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) pointed out human rights issues concerning North Korean defectors in China for the first time and recommended improvements to the Chinese government. In mid-this month, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), a bipartisan body under the U.S. Congress, held a hearing on the "Forced Repatriation Crisis of North Korean Defectors in China" and criticized the Chinese government.

North Korean women are working at a construction site along the Yalu River. [Image source=AFP]

Our government has not yet shown any special movement regarding China’s forced repatriation. An official from the Ministry of Unification reiterated the fundamental stance, saying, "The government’s position is that North Korean defectors residing overseas should not be forcibly repatriated against their will and should be sent to their desired destinations on humanitarian grounds." A Foreign Ministry official expressed the same position and said, "We request cooperation from the Chinese government on related occasions."

Shin Hee-seok, a former legal analyst at the Transitional Justice Working Group, said, "Just as we demand human rights improvements from North Korea, we should be able to point out the problems of China’s forced repatriation policy regardless of Korea-China relations," adding, "As was mentioned in the Korea-U.S. summit regarding the 'abductees, detainees, and Korean War POW issues,' I hope the international community will mention and urge solutions to issues such as human trafficking faced by North Korean refugees in China."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.