North Korean defectors
Defectors caught in China are repatriated back to North Korea, where human rights groups say they often face years of punishment and harsh interrogation, or even death.
Exceptions can be made in cases where humanitarian law or refugee status apply, and all member states need to elaborate reports on these deportations, "including an explanation of why less than half of such DPRK nationals were repatriated ... if applicable".
[6] According to Courtland Robinson, assistant professor at the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, around 10,000 North Korean defectors are staying in China.
[10] Professor Courtland Robinson of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University estimated that in the past the total number of 6,824 and 7,829 children were born to North Korean women in the three Northeastern Provinces of China.
They are then sent to Hanawon, a government resettlement center where they are provided a 12-week social adaptation mandatory course, mainly focused on economic and political education and job training.
However, apart from these essential trainings for social adaptation, psychological needs such as mitigating traumatic experiences and vulnerable mental health statuses are not significantly addressed.
One such organization, Saejowi, provides defectors with medical assistance as well as an education in diverse topics ranging from leadership and counseling techniques to sexual violence prevention and avoidance.
[36] As a consequence, in a survey of over 24,000 of North Koreans who migrated to South Korea between August and December 2012, 607 identified as suffering from depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation.
With limited government-sponsored programs for migrants, North Koreans face vocational, medical, and educational difficulties assimilating in South Korea and rely on nongovernmental organizations.
South Koreans' politically (rather than personally) relevant antagonism against North Korea as a whole, however, is mainly targeted at its Communist regime and at what they perceive as its contribution to the division of the formerly coherent national identity.
[37] According to a 2015 UC Santa Cruz paper, many interviewed defectors wanted to resettle in China or emigrate to a Western country, due to bigotry, semi-official discrimination, difficulty with the ultra-competitive aspects of South Korean society, and disappointment with unfulfilled promises of ease and prosperity by missionaries and the government.
[39] Radio Free Asia reports that in 2007 alone, over 100 asylum applications were submitted, and that North Korean refugees have come from China or elsewhere with the help of Canadian missionaries and NGOs.
[45] Some NGOs have been releasing inflated numbers on the amount of North Korean defectors in China, but many experts and official organizations such as the UNHCR have criticized their figures as unreliable.
[54] However, due to rising social security issues including crime and violence involving North Koreans, the value of male labour decreased.
[54] Females, on the other hand, were able to find easier means of settlement including performing smaller labour tasks and marrying Chinese locals (mostly ethnic Korean).
[62] In June 2002, a diplomatic row broke out between China and South Korea after Chinese security guards dragged a would-be asylum seeker from Seoul's embassy in Beijing.
The case of the 24 detainees, who had been held since early February, garnered international attention due to the North's reported harsh punishment of those who attempted to defect.
[71] In April 2016, China allowed 13 North Korean restaurant workers to defect to South Korea, with spokesman Lu Kang saying they all had valid identity documents.
[73][74] South Korean human-rights activists have held rallies at the Chinese embassy in Seoul and have appealed to the U.N. Human Rights Council to urge China to stop the deportation of the refugees.
Citing UNHRC statistics, the report identified North Korean communities in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
[93] Some of the Koreans who were repatriated, including Kim Hyon-hui, a student of Yaeko Taguchi, revealed evidence about the whereabouts of Japanese citizens who had been kidnapped by North Korea.
Hwang and Kim arrived in Clark Air Base, and were taken custody by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and brought them to a safe house in Baguio City.
[121][122] 5 North Korean defectors who surrendered to the Ho Chi Minh City police in May 2004 in an appeal to go to South Korea were reportedly deported to China by Vietnamese authorities on 16 June.
[128] In April 2019, 6 North Koreans were stopped by Vietnamese military authorities in the Hà Tĩnh Province; 3 managed to escape while the other 3 were reportedly deported to China.
[130][131] According to a Seoul-based activist group in January 2020, 11 North Koreans detained in Vietnam while seeking to defect to South Korea were released with the help of European institutions.
[139] 93% of surveyed North Korean defectors identify food and water shortages and no access to medical care and, thus, constant illness as the most common types of their traumatic experiences preceding PTSD.
According to Yoon, collective effort of the defectors themselves, the government, NGOs, and humanitarian and religious organizations can help make the adjustment process smoother and less painful.
Lartigue Jr. and Lee gave a joint TEDx Talk in 2017 that tells the history of FSI and offers practical lessons for making the world a better place.
[152] Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea has allegedly started a campaign to attract defectors to return with promises of money, housing, employment, and no punishments.
[150] Business Insider reported in 2013 that North Korea had aired at least 13 such appearances on TV where returning defectors complain about poor living conditions in the South and pledge allegiance to Kim Jong Un.
