A North Korean defector organization has objected to an ROK government proposal to stop using the label “defector” to refer to those from the DPRK, highlighting a divide over the alleged negative connotations of the term.

The National Association of North Korean Defectors (NANKD) in a statement Monday criticized Unification Minister Chung Dong-young for considering changing the term defector (talbukmin, 탈북민) to bukhyangmin (북향민), meaning those whose hometowns are in the north.

Chung said during a policy briefingearlier this month that all defectors have expressed strong resistance to the original term and that he was gathering opinions on changing