What will happen to 31 repatriated N. Korean defectors?

The fates of 31 North Korean defectors who were sent back to the Stalinist country after their arrests in China is drawing international attention in the wake of the North`s harsh punishment of those who attempt to escape the communist nation since Kim Jong Un took power.

Considering what happened to captured defectors in the past, the 31 escapees will at least be sentenced to life imprisonment at concentration camps. With Pyongyang ordering the execution of those who caught attempting to flee to South Korea without a trial, fears are rising that the 31 defectors will be executed as well.

○ Defectors` families sentenced to concentration camps

The North’s policy for punishment of defectors has been frequently changed. In the mid-1990s, when a large number of them began fleeing their country, Pyongyang executed many of them to set an example to others.

In the early 2000s, those who tried to flee the country due to economic difficulty were sentenced to penal servitude for six months but the level of punishment grew even higher from the late 2000s. Those caught trying to get to the South were sent to concentration camps and habitual escapees were sentenced to three years in prison.

From late 2010, when Kim Jong Un took control of the North’s National Security Council and declared harsh punishment for defectors, even first-time escapees were sentenced to three years in prison. He also ordered escapees shot to death on the spot last summer.

In the wake of the death of Kim Jong Il, the North began meting out much harsher punishment to escapees under the judgment that they could undermine the communist regime.

Over the mourning period for Kim Jong Il, North Korea threatened to exterminate three generations of any family with a member caught defecting, and those caught over the mourning period were sent to No. 22 Concentration Camp in the North`s Hamgyong Province without going through interrogation.

Even the children of defectors were considered political prisoners and sent to the camp with their parents. The No. 22 camp is for political prisoners and notorious for its poor conditions.

Several years ago, the North set up additional facilities in the camp to accommodate the families of defectors caught going to the South. Nineteen North Koreans caught fleeing to South Korea by Chinese police in October last year are known to have been sent to the camp. South Korea at the time urged China to release them.

With the North indiscriminately arresting any family with repatriated escapees and those who helped and turned a blind eye to them, hundreds of North Koreans are likely to be sent to concentration camps.

○ Int`l society can help repatriated defectors

The global attention that the repatriated defectors are attracting will help them, according to experts. The Dong-A Ilbo and several organizations working for North Korean human rights have a list of the repatriated defectors, meaning their fates can be found out via sources in North Korea.

The whereabouts and punishment the defectors face could serve as vivid evidence of North Korea’s inhumane acts, said experts.

If the North wants to recover its economy, it should first improve its ties with the outside world and improvement of its human rights is a prerequisite to that end. In this sense, Pyongyang should brace for a situation where Western countries demand the confirmation of the 31 defectors by presenting the list of their names. Nevertheless, they are unlikely to be released.

zsh75@donga.com