Tag - defectors

 
 

DEFECTORS

North Korea has tightened its borders further over the past few years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 8, 2023
Up to 600 North Korean defectors deported by China 'vanish,' report says
The defectors may face imprisonment, torture, sexual violence and execution in the isolated state, the report warned.
Kim, 31, who loaded his family into a homemade wooden boat in May and sailed away from his native North Korea, attends a job fair for North Korean defectors in Seoul while holding a whiteboard that reads "Navigator."
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 6, 2023
North Korean defector plans new life after high-risk escape by sea
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, but most go overland.
U.S. Army soldier Travis King. Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody and the soldier has not publicly explained why he fled to one of the world's most reclusive nations on July 19.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2023
U.S. Army charges Travis King with desertion over North Korea dash
Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody
South Korea's government and international rights organizations have said defectors who are deported back to the North face harsh punishment.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023
South Korea protests to China over suspected North Korea repatriations
South Korea had been unable to determine the number of people involved and whether there were defectors among them.
A man walks past a television showing a news broadcast featuring a photo of U.S. soldier Travis King, who ran across the border into North Korea while part of a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone on South Korea's border, in Seoul, on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023
U.S. soldier in American custody after release from North Korea
U.S. Army soldier Travis King was released by Pyongyang more than two months after he sprinted across the border from the South in July.
A United Nations Command soldier conducts a media tour of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas as a South Korean soldier and other UNC soldiers stand guard at the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 16, 2023
North Korea claims U.S. soldier seeking refuge from mistreatment
Pyongyang said U.S. Army Pfc. Travis King had “admitted that he illegally intruded” into North Korea last month.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jul 22, 2023
Bringing Private King home: Reaching Pyongyang is the first challenge
Securing the return of citizens from North Korea has never been easy for the U.S. It may be even harder now, with communications now almost nonexistent.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2023
How a U.S. soldier made a mad dash into North Korea
The U.S. military was scrambling on Wednesday to determine the soldier's fate, as well as his motive.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 19, 2023
U.S. soldier in North Korea far from first American to flee to reclusive state
Numerous U.S. citizens — including soldiers, tourists, journalists and scholars — have been detained or crossed into North Korea since the Cold War.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 19, 2023
U.S. soldier facing disciplinary action slips across inter-Korean border into North Korea
An American soldier facing disciplinary action at home “willfully and without authorization' fled Tuesday into North Korea, where he was apparently taken into custody.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 18, 2023
U.S. national in North Korean custody after crossing inter-Korean border during tour
The U.S. citizen crossed into the nuclear-armed country while on a tour of the Joint Security Area at the border with the South, the United Nations Command said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2023
North Korean defectors are dying lonely deaths in wealthy South Korea
Nearly 90% of defectors in Seoul said they’ve had trouble settling into their new homes after a decade, with many experiencing mental health problems and other adjustment issues.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2023
High-level defection: Why a North Korean diplomatic family chose freedom
Born into an elite North Korean family with ties to the ruling dynasty, Oh Hye Son grew up believing she was 'special' — but then she tasted freedom overseas and decided to defect.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 16, 2021
North Korean crosses armed border in potential defection to South
South Korea's military said on Tuesday it had captured a North Korean individual who crossed the heavily fortified border between the two countries in a rare potential defection amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 8, 2020
North Korean diplomat, missing since 2018, is spotted in Seoul
The revelation could further aggravate North-South relations, which have been in a downward spiral for months.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 12, 2020
Defectors say South Korea probes threaten North 'Underground Railroad'
A combination of coronavirus border closures and an unprecedented pressure campaign by a South Korean government keen to engage with North Korea may destroy networks defectors have long used to start new lives, activist groups say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jul 7, 2020
North Korean defectors face wrath of both Seoul and Pyongyang
Two brothers who led defector groups were questioned by police last week, after the government sought to have them prosecuted over leaflets sent over the border.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 14, 2020
North Korea warns of retaliatory actions over defectors in South
The statement came days after South Korea took legal action against defectors who have been sending material such as rice and anti-North leaflets.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2020
North Korean defectors push on with leaflets and aid despite threats
Two North Korean defector-run groups targeted for legal action by South Korean authorities say they intend to continue sending propaganda leaflets and humanitarian aid into North Korea, despite criticism from governments in both countries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2020
Gangnam smile: North Korean defector wins Seoul's swankiest seat
A former North Korean diplomat has won a parliamentary seat in South Korea's swankiest district, four years after fleeing a London embassy and defecting to the South.

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