Immigration to North Korea

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Immigration to North Korea occurs when Koreans and others move to North Korea and make it their permanent home. Often this is considered a defection because these immigrants have, in the terms of the Cold War, switched allegiance. This group is in contrast to the much larger group of North Korean defectors who have left North Korea.

Contents

From South Korea

Husband and wife Choe Deok-sin and Ryu Mi-yong defected to the North in 1986. [1] [2] Ryu became the chairwoman of the North Korean Chondoist Chongu Party. [2] She was a standing committee member of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly. [2] In 2000, she led a delegation of defectors to the South on an officially sanctioned reunion with family they left behind. [3] [2] Ryu died of lung cancer in November 2016. [4] Ryu's son, Choe In-guk, reportedly defected to North Korea in July 2019. [4]

Returning to North Korea

In some cases, defectors from North Korea voluntarily return to North Korea. Exact numbers are unknown; [5] however, in 2013, the Korea Times reported the number of double defectors to be increasing. Double defectors either take a route through third countries such as China, or may defect directly from South Korea. [6] In 2014, the Unification Ministry of South Korea said it only had records of 13 double defections, three of whom defected to South Korea again. [7] However, the total number is thought to be higher. A former South Korean MP estimated that in 2012 about 100 defectors returned to North Korea via China. [7] In 2015, it was reported that about 700 [8] defectors living in South Korea are unaccounted for and have possibly fled to China or Southeast Asia in hopes of returning to North Korea. [6] In one case, a double defector re-entered North Korea four times. [5]

North Korea under Kim Jong-un has allegedly started a campaign to attract defectors to return with promises of money, housing and employment. According to unconfirmed reports, government operatives have contacted defectors living in South Korea and offered them guarantees that their families are safe, 50 million South Korean Won ($44,000), [5] and a public appearance on TV. [7] It was 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. [7] [9] In November 2016, North Korean website Uriminzokkiri aired an interview with three double defectors who complained that they had been treated as second-class citizens. [10]

In 2013, a re-defector was charged by South Korea upon return. [11] In 2016, defector Kim Ryon-hui's request to return to North Korea was denied by the South Korean government. [12] In June 2017, Chun Hye-sung, a defector who had been a guest on several South Korean TV shows using the name Lim Ji-hyun, returned to the North. On North Korean TV, she said that she had been ill-treated and pressured into fabricating stories detrimental to North Korea. [10] In July 2017, a man who had defected to the South and then returned to the North was arrested under the National Security Act when he entered the South again. [13]

In 2019, South Korea deported two North Korean fishermen who tried to defect, saying that an investigation had found the men had killed 16 of their crewmates. [14] −In July 2020, North Korea reported a suspected case of COVID-19 in a man who had defected to the South and then swam to the North from Ganghwa Island. [15] According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, there were 11 confirmed cases of defectors returning to North Korea between 2011 and 2015. [15]

Related Research Articles

People defect from North Korea for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. North Koreans flee to various countries, mostly South Korea and China. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jang Song-thaek</span> North Korean government official (1946–2013)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryu Mi-yong</span> North Korean politician (1921–2016)

Ryu Mi-yong was the chairwoman of the North Korean Chondoist Chongu Party. She was a standing committee member of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly. She was known as a defector from South Korea to the North.

<i>Daily NK</i> Online newspaper

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choe Deok-sin</span> South Korean politician

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choe Ryong-hae</span> North Korean politician and military officer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Yo-jong</span> North Korean politician (born 1987)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thae Yong-ho</span> South Korean politician (born 1962)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choe Son-hui</span> North Korean politician (born 1964)

Choe Son-hui is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. Previously the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, she was appointed Minister on 11 June 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position and is one of few North Korean women holding a high-level office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hwang Sun-hui</span> North Korean politician (1919–2020)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea</span> Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea

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References

  1. ↑ Korea Times
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ryu Mi-yong -- Representitive [sic] of Chongdogyo in North Korean". High Beam Research. 16 August 2000. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  3. ↑ The Daily Telegraph
  4. 1 2 Shim, Elizabeth (July 7, 2019). "South Korean man defects to North Korea, Pyongyang says". UPI. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Ju-min Park (18 August 2013). "North Korea Is Promising No Harm And Cash Rewards For Defectors Who Come Back". Business Insider. Additional reporting by Se Young Lee in Seoul and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Dean Yates and David Chance. Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 Chung Min-uck (24 December 2013). "More N. Korean defectors going back". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 McCurry, Justin (22 April 2014). "The defector who wants to go back to North Korea". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Almost 700 N. Korean defectors' whereabouts unknown". Yonhap News Agency. 27 September 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Adam Taylor (26 December 2013). "Why North Korean Defectors Keep Returning Home". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 Ahn, JH (17 July 2017). "Former TV star defector back in North Korea: state media". NK News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "N. Korea's 're-defector' to stand to trial in Seoul". Global Post. Yonhap News Agency. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Joo, Seong-ha (28 June 2016). "Denying human rights to uphold it: A N.Korean defector's case". NK News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016.
  13. ↑ Ji, Dagyum (28 July 2017). "N. Korean re-defector arrested in S. Korea for violating national security law". NK News. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017.
  14. ↑ "South Korea deports North Korean arrivals for first time since the Korean War – fishermen who murdered their 16 crewmates". ABC. 8 November 2019.
  15. 1 2 "Coronavirus: Swimming defector was not infected, says S Korea". BBC. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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