Two North Korean defectors have been arrested by Chinese police in Kunming, Yunnan Province, after an attempt to reach South Korea, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in China said Wednesday that the two defectors, who lived in a rural community in Liaoning Province, “met with misfortune last month when they left their home to go to South Korea, taking a taxi for the four-day trip to Kunming, only to be arrested by Chinese police upon arriving in the city.”
According to the source, one of the defectors had failed several times to reach South Korea. She ran away from home three times since 2019, but was caught by her Chinese husband and neighbors each time.
For several years, she had to live under the control and watchful eye of her Chinese husband and his family. They removed her mobile phone, allowing her to use it again only from June last year.
“As soon as she got her mobile phone back, she thought again about going to South Korea,” the source said. “However, because she could run off only if she put her Chinese family at ease, she was just searching for brokers when, in September, another defector who lived nearby suggested they go to South Korea together and they then agreed to leave together.”
Afterward, the two searched for separate brokers to maximize their safety and give them options in terms of price. Then, an acquaintance introduced them to a broker who said he could send them to South Korea for KRW 2.5 million (around USD 1,916) a person.
Most brokers ask for at least KRW 10 million (around USD 7,667) upfront, an enormous burden on defectors who wish to go to South Korea. But the broker offering to send them for just KRW 2.5 million, so the defectors decided to leave home without hesitation.
The pair successfully escaped their homes and took a taxi to Kunming, but were arrested when they were snagged in a Chinese police ID check.
“It seems their tracks were discovered because they left with their police-registered mobile phones rather than leaving them at home,” the source said. “They may have been arrested because the police in Kunming called a number in their mobile phones to confirm whether they were really defectors who lived in China.
“They tried to head to South Korea to escape their difficult lives in China, but now, they face an even bigger risk of being repatriated to North Korea,” he continued, adding that while the pair currently remain with the Kunming police, “we have to wait and see what happens to them.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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