Four North Koreans were handed over to state security after being intercepted by a maritime patrol vessel while attempting to defect in a small wooden boat from Hwadae county on North Hamgyong province’s southern coast.
A source in the province told Daily NK recently that the boat “was caught by a maritime patrol boat that suddenly appeared” last month, and the authorities determined the four were “trying to defect to South Korea.”
According to the source, the four people had been under close surveillance by the county branch of the Ministry of State Security, which had received a tip about their plans. Security agents quietly waited at the location and quickly dispatched a patrol boat to the scene.
When the wooden boat unexpectedly malfunctioned, the four couldn’t escape and were arrested, unable to resist or explain themselves.
Three of the four arrested North Koreans were family members, while the fourth was the captain, who was unrelated to the others. The captain was an experienced seaman who had worked for a fisheries enterprise and had attempted to defect with the family.
“The provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security is interrogating the four separately,” the source said. “They’re pressing them to reveal whether someone behind the scenes orchestrated the defection attempt in an organized way—or in other words, whether they had connections with anyone overseas.”
For now, it appears they tried to defect due to severe economic hardship.
During questioning by the provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security, all four stated they were struggling to survive, had little time to earn money because authorities constantly mobilized them for various tasks, and saw little future for themselves. One of them testified he had decided to defect after being forced by an organization he was affiliated with to join a work brigade.
After questioning them, the provincial security agents scolded the accused, saying everyone in the country faces hardships but continues to endure—inadvertently acknowledging North Korea’s dire economic situation.
“The incident was reported all the way to Pyongyang, and the four will likely be sent to a political prison camp for attempting to defect,” the source said. “Because of this incident, authorities have been ordered to increase surveillance along the coast and inspect fishing boats more thoroughly.”
North Korean security authorities have ordered officials to keep silent about the incident, warning that telling the public that someone was caught trying to reach South Korea “is a dangerous act that arouses anti-state sentiment.” However, rumors of the incident have already spread among workers at fishery enterprises in the Hwadae county area.
