"North Korean Defectors Trafficked in China Escape Ahead of Border Opening"

Family Starvation and Human Trafficking in China after Defection from North Korea
Beaten and Abused after Being Sold to Rural Areas, Human Rights Violations
All 5 Enter South Korea... "Support Activities for North Korean Defectors in China Face Difficulties"

As the reopening of the North Korea-China border approaches, concerns over the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors residing in China are growing. Amid this, news has emerged that five North Korean women defectors who were staying in China have successfully escaped safely. These women, who have suffered human rights abuses for nearly 20 years in an unstable state without legal status and endured human trafficking, have all currently entered South Korea and are understood to be undergoing procedures for settlement.

According to the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Center on the 21st, five North Korean women defectors residing in China who received support from the center were rescued from April this year until last month. All of them are in their 30s to 40s, and it is known that they have all successfully entered South Korea and are currently undergoing settlement procedures at national institutions including Hanawon.

With the help of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Center, North Korean women who successfully escaped from China to South Korea between April and July this year are reporting their 'safe escape' at police stations in third countries such as Thailand after crossing the Chinese border.
[Photo by North Korean Human Rights Promotion Center]

The initial defection periods of the women rescued this time vary from the early 2000s to 2016, but the reasons for their defection, as revealed by them, are mostly similar, such as poor economic conditions. It was explained that losing parents or family due to illness or starvation (餓死) and no longer being able to sustain a livelihood in North Korea had the greatest influence on their decision to defect.

In particular, after defecting to China, the women were trafficked and sold to the Dongbei Samsung region, and after being forcibly married to Chinese men, they reportedly suffered from their husbands' violence and beatings. Chinese men who attempt forced marriages through human trafficking are generally known to live in remote rural villages or have not married until a late age due to poor economic conditions.

Above all, because the Chinese government does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees but considers them "illegal residents," these defecting women lived in an unstable state without legal status. After the COVID-19 pandemic, without identification cards, they could not go to hospitals or pharmacies even when ill, and although they worked secretly in restaurants, they lived in fear of being reported to the public security authorities at any time, according to the women.

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]

One defector said, "I never received humane treatment while living with my Chinese husband," and confessed, "I had to live anxiously every day without legal status." She explained that when children born to Chinese men reached elementary school age, schools required verification of their parents' status, forcing even the children of defecting women to live unstable lives.

A video provided by Lee Hanbyul, director of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Center, shows the escape process of the five defecting women. It includes scenes of traveling by vehicle with activists during the day and crossing the border of a third country through mountains and forests where not even an inch ahead is visible at night. Having crossed the sea by boat tirelessly day and night, they also sent video letters from police stations in third countries such as Thailand, reporting their "safe escape."

North Korea, Border Reopening Imminent... Concerns Over Full-Scale Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors in China

North Korean defectors waiting for third-country resettlement at Chiang Saen Police Station, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, May 2007. [Image source=Yonhap News]

If the border between North Korea and China opens, it is expected that North Korean defectors detained in the North Korean embassy, embassy staff, and students will be the first to be repatriated. Because of this, the international community, including South Korea, has pointed out that China's forced repatriation policy violates international norms such as the principle of non-refoulement and the Convention Against Torture, but the Chinese government has not expressed any particular stance.

On the contrary, activists helping defectors are reportedly being threatened due to strengthened inspections under laws such as the Anti-Espionage Law. Director Lee Hanbyul expressed concern, saying, "Many defectors are being arrested while moving due to CCTV and artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition inspection systems installed throughout China," and "Especially because of the revised Anti-Espionage Law enforced in July this year, even activists supporting defections face dangerous situations when moving near the border."

Amid this situation, controversy arose recently over the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which should be leading 'human rights protection,' deliberately remaining silent about China's atrocities. In response, on the 11th, South Korean human rights organizations including the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) sent a public protest letter, after which the UN promptly explained, "We are concerned about the forced repatriation of North Korean residents and will seek solutions."

Meanwhile, on the 16th, Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, targeted the Chinese government at the "Seminar Opposing Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors Detained in China," stating, "North Korean defectors in China should be defined as refugees who have the right to have their lives and human rights protected, rather than merely illegal entrants." He particularly mentioned the "principle of non-refoulement," criticizing, "Forced repatriation against their will contradicts the spirit of international norms."

At this event, Minister Kim reaffirmed the South Korean government's "principle of accepting all defectors." He emphasized, "The government will accept all North Korean defectors who wish to come to South Korea," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that defectors in China and other third countries can enter the country quickly and safely, and live proudly as members of the Republic of Korea without any discrimination or disadvantage."

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