In the past 30 years, a growing number of individuals have left the DPRK and resettled in third countries, forming a globally dispersed diaspora. The majority of North Korean émigrés are in South Korea (34,078 as of Dec. 2023), but a significant number have also sought asylum and resettlement beyond the Korean Peninsula. 

While comparatively small in number, this community has had an outsized impact on host country policies and on international advocacy toward North Korea. In a new book, “Politics of the North Korean Diaspora,” I examine how the authoritarian nature of the North Korean regime shapes these