Another 260 N Korean refugees escape south
Largest exodus of North Koreans ever. Experts say the problem must be internationalised.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) The arrival of a second group of North Korean refugees was low key and discrete. Their total number has reached 460 in just two days, an unprecedented event in the history of South Korea, which has been used to trickles of defectors seeking asylum.
Some experts believe that the country cannot manage alone such a large influx of people and needs help from the international community.
The refugees reached South Korea through a third country whose identity remains unknown perhaps Vietnam for security reasons. The latter threatened them with deportation to China, which in turn would have probably sent them back to North Korea where they would have been likely condemned to forced labour or even death.
About 260 joined today the 200-odd defectors who arrived yesterday in what constitutes the largest North Korean exodus to the south. More than half are women and children. Until now refugees arrived alone, in couples or in small groups of up to 10 people. This has now put South Korea in a difficult situation for it must allocate more money to the problem whilst trying not to create a rift with North Korea and destabilise the peninsula.
South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expects the number of defectors to soon reach 10,000 (they are currently 5,000) stating that it was necessary to "review and upgrade the general policy towards them."
Lee Shin-wha, an advisor to the South Korean government added: "We need to internationalise this problem and have a division of labour, with individual countries accepting a quota of North Korean refugees."
Dr Yoon, a human rights expert, went further: "The South Korean government must strengthen its diplomatic ties with the governments of third countries where defectors are staying. This will enable North Koreans to gain safe passages to Seoul. And it is essential that South Korean society develops measures to adapt to the larger numbers of refugees."
According to official South Korean figures there are 5,000 refugees in the country from the north. The number has increased since the mid-1990s when North Korea's agriculture suffered a devastating blow causing the death from starvation of 2/3 million people in 1995-97.
After being interrogated and undergoing courses to integrate them into South Korean society, refugees receive a living allowance based on their family status: about 35.90 million wons ( 25,000 or US$ 30,000) for single people, 45.55 million wons ( 32,000, US$ 40,000) for families of two, 55.11 million wons ( 39,000, US$ 48,000) for families of three, and so forth. However, the government announced last week that it was cutting back on these payments.
North Korean refugees living in the south may have escaped hunger and tyranny but their new life is not easy. According to Andrei Lankov, professor in Korean history at the Australian National University, 30% to 50% of them are either unemployed or employed in menial jobs. (MR)
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12/02/2016 15:14
11/08/2004
