Chinese police have arrested several female North Korean defectors living in China for having affairs with married Chinese men.<\/p>\n
A Daily NK source in China, speaking anonymously, reported on Tuesday that these arrests occurred after they were reported “by the family of the adulterous man or their Chinese husbands.”<\/p>\n
The source detailed two specific cases. In Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, a defector was arrested after her lover’s family reported her. She had formed a relationship with a nearby married man who provided her with financial assistance. In Jinan, Shandong province, a defector had an affair with a man she met on a messaging app. She was reported to the police by her abusive Chinese husband after fleeing to her lover’s home.<\/p>\n
“Defectors have affairs with Chinese men to receive economic assistance,” the source explained. This underscores the financial hardship faced by most defectors who were sold off to Chinese men through human trafficking. This situation often leaves them with no economic support and unable to help their families in North Korea.<\/p>\n
The source added: “Defectors who suffer emotional or physical pain from their Chinese husbands due to infidelity or beatings sometimes engage in affairs to gain psychological solace from other men.”<\/p>\n
These affairs put defectors at risk of repatriation to North Korea if arrested. Unlike Chinese citizens, who can be released after a short jail term for adultery, defectors are considered illegal migrants and face more severe consequences.<\/p>\n
“The Chinese husbands of the female defectors who were recently arrested for affairs with married Chinese men say they won’t take their wives back,” the source said. “This being the case, the defectors can’t return home and are now awaiting repatriation in prison.”<\/p>\n