By No surprise here:
All 11 North Koreans who arrived in South Korea by boat on Thursday reportedly fled dire poverty at home.
“In a joint government investigation, all 11 North Koreans testified that they escaped from the North because it was hard to make a living there. I understand that none of them had any political motivation,” a government source said. “The 11 people are members of two families of six and five each. All of them said they want to defect to South Korea.”
They had apparently prepared their escape for a long time. A security officer said, “In preparation for a long voyage, they seem to have saved up fuel and food little by little over a long period.” He said the government will announce the result of the investigation this week.
North Korea on Monday sent another message to South Korea calling for the return of all 11 defectors, the third in four days. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read my prior posting on this defection here.
There has been a few people who have defected North Korea over the years for political reasons, but the vast majority of defectors defect for the same reasons these 11 did, escape poverty and make a better life for themselves.
10:26 am on October 6th, 2009 1
But, when poverty is so tied to both government corruption and inability – stemming from its governoring ideology and methods – and is tied directly to methods of control of the population itself — how can we separate economic considerations from political ones?
Sure, if NK's economy were better, and if it spread the wealth around liberally, people like this might not defect. But then it wouldn't be North Korea…
11:02 am on October 6th, 2009 2
Poverty in most underdeveloped and developing countries is caused or sustained in part by government corruption. This is true of our neighbor to the south. What distinguishes a true refugee is a fear of persecution upon return, a certainty for any North Korean caught sneaking across the border or hiding in China. Off-hand I cannot think of any other country that violently punishes any citizen who leaves without going through passport control.
5:43 pm on October 6th, 2009 3
The sad thing is, this is the ONLY way they can safely defect – when they take their whole families with them. North Korea has an abhorrent policy of throwing relatives of defectors into prison camps.
8:03 pm on October 6th, 2009 4
Good for these people. Sure, life in South Korea will still be very tough for them to adapt but they will be better off. And an excellent point John Rohan that the whole families had to escape to avoid horrible repercussions.
1:30 am on October 7th, 2009 5
Good point.