Defections From North Korea Plummet Due To Pandemic

South Korea's Unification Ministry announced that the number of North Koreans defecting to the south has declined massively as a result of Pyongyang upping border security during the Covid-19 pandemic. The secretive country still has not reported a single case of the virus (which experts disptute) and the authorities have reportedly issued shoot-to-kill orders in all border areas to prevent transmission. The collapse in defections is primarily as a result of tightened security on the Chinese border which is the route most defectors take to eventually make it to the South, a journey that often takes years. It usually ends with an attempt to enter South Korea via a third country, an option which has also become more difficult as a resulf of travel restrictions imposed by Seoul due to Covid-19. The direct route across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone is the most hazardous and it tends to be rarely used.

The number of North Korean defectors was high during the famine in the late 1990s but the volume has steadily fallen since Kim Jong-un took power. Under his watch, escape has become more difficult with increased border patrols, more inspections and the erection of electrified fencing. 2,914 North Koreans defected in 2009 and that number fell to 1,047 a decade later. Last year, the pandemic saw the figure fall to just 229 individuals, nearly all of whom were already in China prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.

The vast majority of defectors in 2020 were women, 68.6 percent, a trend that is in line with previous years. That pattern is generally attribued to women being primarily employed in the service sector where they are more likely to suffer financial hardship than men who mainly serve in the military. Men leave for a variety of reasons, sometimes political and ideological, but also due to trouble with the authorities. In total, around 33,700 North Korean defectors are currenty registered with the Unification Ministry in South Korea.

For the ones that make it to South Korea safely, their arrival heralds an interrogation to ensure they are not a security risk. They are then sent to a special government-run resettlement program for 12 weeks where they learn about politics, the economy and are provided with job training. After three months, they are given government benefits such as health insurance, unemployment benefits and resettlement assistance. Despite Seoul supporting defectors, many North Koreans fail to get over the psychological trauma of their ordeal and adaptation to their new life which has resulted in long term mental health problems.