{"id":59445,"date":"2024-05-14T15:30:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T06:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=59445"},"modified":"2026-04-06T13:59:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T04:59:31","slug":"relations-china-north-korea-improve-defectors-china-worry-about-repatriations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/relations-china-north-korea-improve-defectors-china-worry-about-repatriations\/","title":{"rendered":"As relations between China and N. Korea improve, defectors in China worry about repatriations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once strained, the relationship between North Korea and China appears to be on the mend again as the two countries mark the \u201cyear of North Korea-China friendship\u201d to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. This situation is leading to fears among North Korean defectors in China, many of whom worry that North Korea and China may improve cooperation on repatriating defectors as the countries grow closer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in China told Daily NK recently that defectors in China \u201cfeel more frightened and insecure than ever about being repatriated because the closer North Korea and China are, the greater the risk that defectors will be repatriated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said defectors in China have felt troubled since reports emerged that Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People&#8217;s Congress and the third-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party, discussed plans to strengthen exchanges and cooperation to develop China-North Korea ties when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to North Korea on April 11-13.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defectors in China who were already feeling uneasy after China forcibly repatriated a large number of North Koreans last October now live in extreme fear following the high-ranking Chinese official\u2019s visit to the North, according to the source.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, anxious North Korean defectors have dramatically grown in number, with word recently going around that \u201cif relations between North Korea and China improve, we\u2019ll all be repatriated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean defectors in China say that if Beijing and Pyongyang grow closer, bilateral cooperation on the defector issue will intensify \u2014 and if this is the case, they never know when they will be caught and sent back to the North.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the source, one defector said if North Korea-China relations improve, \u201cChina will present us to the North as a bribe, and we\u2019ll get sent to a place from which we\u2019ll never leave.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The individual added: \u201cNowadays, during the day, I&#8217;m afraid to even leave my bathroom for fear that somebody is coming to get me, while at night, I suffer nightmares. It doesn\u2019t feel like living.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Defectors feel like they&#8217;re being driven to the ledge&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In particular, defectors are growing even more frightened as rumors go around that China \u201cwill round up and repatriate defectors living in China, regardless of the reason, after it\u2019s done repatriating all those defectors currently in Chinese prisons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLast summer as well, people were nervous for a while as rumors went around that China would repatriate defectors in Chinese prisons, then suddenly arrest and repatriate defectors who committed no crimes and were living quietly,\u201d the source said. \u201cWith China continuing to repatriate defectors in prison since last October, defectors\u2019 fears are reaching a fever pitch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe still need to watch and see whether they\u2019re not just rumors and if China is actually taking those steps, but defectors feel like they\u2019re being driven to the ledge,\u201d he said. \u201cIn response, defectors say there\u2019s no way to survive other than by going to South Korea, but they can\u2019t do a thing because if you slip up even slightly while trying to go to the South, you can be arrested and repatriated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK\u2019s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/faq\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20240509-5\/\"><em>Read in Korean<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once strained, the relationship between North Korea and China appears to be on the mend again as the two countries mark the \u201cyear of North Korea-China friendship\u201d to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. This situation is leading to fears among North Korean defectors in China, many of whom worry that North Korea and China [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":39559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1063,1516,759,844,995],"class_list":["post-59445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-rumors","tag-forced-repatriation","tag-china","tag-defections","tag-prison-camps"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>As relations between China and N. 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