Daily NK has learned that the 16 North
Koreans from North Hamgyung Province, who defected at the beginning of this
month, have arrived safely in Thailand. The defection, coined the “three-family
defection” was first covered by Daily NK on August 9th.
A source in North Hamgyung Province
reported on August 21st, “I received confirmation from a source in China who
helped them along the way, that the
group has arrived in Thailand. After an initial few days in China, they quickly
moved on to a bordering country.”
This comes as great relief to families of
the group still in the North who have long awaited news of their loved ones’
status and whereabouts. Until now, “ we were on pins and needles, but now that
we know they they are out of harm’s way, we can sleep easy tonight.”
The source indicated that recent inminban[people’s unit] meetings have been replete with warnings and threats to deter those interested
in following the “three-family defection.” This behavior is expected by the
authorities, who are reeling from the mass defection incident.
“Everyone trying to cross into China has
been caught,” they menace, going on, “Traitors will invariably be seized, so
don’t attempt to try to escape.” The threats fall on dubious ears though, the
source said, people have little trust in anything claims originating from the
authorities.
“Rumor spreads fast among people in the
region about those who tried to defect; they, more than anyone else, tend to
know best the truth about those who have defected. If anyone trying to escape
is detained at any point, word travels fast in an effort to warn others, who may
be considering defecting themselves,
that the conditions are too dangerous at given periods of time.”
“Even if you escape the North, it’s only a
matter of time until you get caught in China or elsewhere,” the authorities
warn, but Daily NK’s source confirmed that relatives of the recent group, that
crossed the Sino-North Korean border from Osong County [in North Hamgyung
Province], had received no such news.”
He went on, “People still risk punitive measures like detainment or having family members dragged
away as punishment, so we realize that those threats must not be empty; some
people are still managing to escape unscathed.”
The onset of the Kim Jong Eun era, rife
with paranoia, saw increased border regulation,
abductions of family members of defectors, and other desperate attempts to regain control. Punishment for such transgressions also grew more severe.
“Despite stringent measures and threats by
the authorities to prevent defections, they failed to stop the infinite line of
people desperate to escape. Now they’ve started expanding surveillance posts to
try to tighten up the border,” he explained. “It’s going to get even harder for
people trying to get out.”
