The U.S. States Hosting North Korean Refugees

A Vice News report shed light on perilous journies some young North Koreans take to escape their reclusive and oppressive nation. Last month, a North Korean soldier crossed the DMZ, getting shot five times in the process. Other people cross the Yalu River into China where they either remain or push on in the direction of countries in Southeast Asia or aim directly to get to South Korea. Many are detected in China and sent back to North Korea where they are severely punished.

Those who reach countries like Laos and Thailand are assisted by organizations like Liberty in North Korea (LINK). Since it was founded, that NGO has helped hundred of North Koreans to South Korea and the U.S. where they can claim political Between January 2006 and August 2016, 186 North Korean refugees settled in the U.S. with Kentucky, California and New York being the three states hosting the most of them.