Japanese Newspaper, “China Requests Korea to Stop Providing Settlement Money to NK Defectors”

Japanese newspaper Sankei reported from Beijing yesterday that the Chinese government, in order to curb the rapid increase of the defectors in the country, requested the Korean government to stop supporting North Korean defectors with settlement money.

In addition, the Chinese government requested Vietnam and Mongolia to refrain from accommodating North Korean defectors and strengthen the defenses of borders adjacent to China.

The newspaper conveyed that China believes that part of the some 30 million won settlement money support given to North Korean defectors by the Korean government is transferred to desertion brokers as “success allowances,” expanding and reproducing organized desertion from North Korea.

The newspaper added that, in addition to the forceful extradition of North Korean defectors whom the Chinese government arrested, worrying that desertion could accelerate upon the opportunity of the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Act, the Chinese government is not letting easy emigration of North Korean defectors who entered foreign legations in the country as well.

Concerning this, an authority of the Korean government stated, “There was a request from the Chinese government to limit the number of North Korean defectors in China to go to Korea, but there was no talk about settlement money. There is no change to the government policy of assisting North Korean defectors who entered Korean legation to go and settle in Korea.”

Won-Jae Park hanscho@donga.com