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2017.06.28
| Won | Pyongyang | Sinuiju | Hyesan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rate | 8,070 | 8,050 | 8,095 |
| Rice Price | 5,800 | 6,000 | 5,900 |
There is a growing sense in South Korea that countermeasures are needed in response to recent cases of “re-defection” back to North Korea. It appears that the North Korean security services are holding families in North Korea as de facto hostages in order to lure defectors back to the country. There are also a significant number of defectors who feel a longing to return north, incited into doing so by their troubles settling in South Korean society. Both issues need to be addressed.
The police, who are in charge of ensuring the safety of defectors in South Korea, cannot stop defectors returning to the North if they are determined to do so. There is no cause to deny defectors freedom of movement and travel, including to China, the country they need to pass through if they wish to return to North Korea.
Therefore, over the longer term the only genuine solution is to facilitate the proper adjustment of defectors to life in South Korea. In particular, there are calls for institutional safeguards that can be applied in cases where North Korea attempts to lure people into re-defecting.
On the 18th, an official with the South Korean police explained to Daily NK, “As it stands, there is no basic policy to prevent re-defection. It would be impossible to restrict visits to China given the fundamental human rights of defectors. There is a need to find legally viable solutions, for example in-depth interviews with defectors who are on their way to China.”
“There is the budgetary problem too, but to deal with the issue of re-defections on a fundamental level we ought to be able to consider solutions like expanding the number of detectives and improving police protection for defectors,” the official added.
“Establishing a policy that ensures proper settlement for defectors has to be the priority,” another police official added. “We have to think about specific plans for those defectors who are somewhat maladjusted, and for those in lower social classes. At present, one police officer is meant to be in charge of every 50 to 100 defectors.”
There are also calls for the South Korean government to make greater diplomatic efforts with the Chinese government. What the North Korean National Security Agency is doing can to all intents and purposes be classified as kidnapping, and these calls center on the need for the Chinese government to implement a policy to try and stop the practice.
The police officer in overall charge of defectors for Seoul Metropolitan Policy Agency said, “While in some cases people do willingly re-defect, mainly they seem to be being lured back, threatened, or kidnapped. I think that, just as President Park Geun Hye said about North Korean human rights during the recent South Korea-China summit, there must be serious bilateral discussion of the re-defection issue.”
The police, who are in charge of ensuring the safety of defectors in South Korea, cannot stop defectors returning to the North if they are determined to do so. There is no cause to deny defectors freedom of movement and travel, including to China, the country they need to pass through if they wish to return to North Korea.
Therefore, over the longer term the only genuine solution is to facilitate the proper adjustment of defectors to life in South Korea. In particular, there are calls for institutional safeguards that can be applied in cases where North Korea attempts to lure people into re-defecting.
On the 18th, an official with the South Korean police explained to Daily NK, “As it stands, there is no basic policy to prevent re-defection. It would be impossible to restrict visits to China given the fundamental human rights of defectors. There is a need to find legally viable solutions, for example in-depth interviews with defectors who are on their way to China.”
“There is the budgetary problem too, but to deal with the issue of re-defections on a fundamental level we ought to be able to consider solutions like expanding the number of detectives and improving police protection for defectors,” the official added.
“Establishing a policy that ensures proper settlement for defectors has to be the priority,” another police official added. “We have to think about specific plans for those defectors who are somewhat maladjusted, and for those in lower social classes. At present, one police officer is meant to be in charge of every 50 to 100 defectors.”
There are also calls for the South Korean government to make greater diplomatic efforts with the Chinese government. What the North Korean National Security Agency is doing can to all intents and purposes be classified as kidnapping, and these calls center on the need for the Chinese government to implement a policy to try and stop the practice.
The police officer in overall charge of defectors for Seoul Metropolitan Policy Agency said, “While in some cases people do willingly re-defect, mainly they seem to be being lured back, threatened, or kidnapped. I think that, just as President Park Geun Hye said about North Korean human rights during the recent South Korea-China summit, there must be serious bilateral discussion of the re-defection issue.”
