By The exodus from North Korea continued in 2009 despite efforts on both sides of the border to stop it:
The number of North Koreans who fled to South Korea in 2009 is known to be close to three-thousand.
A Ministry of Unification official said more than 2,200 women and almost 680 men from North Korea entered South Korea in 2009, totaling more than 2,950 in a preliminary tally.
The official added that this makes the cumulative number of North Korean escapees total approximately 18-thousand, which is almost certain to surpass. [KBS Global]
8:36 pm on January 7th, 2010 1
Completely destroying the savings of those who engaged in the free markets must have sent a ‘very’ strong message to those who relied upon it for survival. I would have to believe the numbers of those who try to escape will only go up in 2010.
3:49 am on January 8th, 2010 2
The thread title is a little misleading. 3,000 North Korean defectors entered South Korea in 2009. However, 3,000 represents only a small fraction of the number of those who defected from North Korea last year. The vast majority of those who leave North Korea go into China and don’t get any further.
8:00 am on January 8th, 2010 3
[...] to KBS (h/t RoK Drop): The number of North Koreans who fled to South Korea in 2009 is known to be close to [...]
1:09 pm on January 8th, 2010 4
2010 will likely see more defectors, now that the iPhone is available in both China and South Korea.