Defector Issues
Information related to North Korean defector issues
Number of North Korean defectors in South’s public sector hits record high
Seoul says 211 escapees working in government and administrative roles, calling them critical for reunification
May 15, 2025
Putin meets North Korean commanders, and Kim Jong Un’s Victory Day speech
NK News’ Jooheon Kim discusses how DPRK leader justified troop dispatch to fight Ukraine and South Korea’s election
May 13, 2025
Bart van Genugten: How Western tourists put North Koreans’ lives at risk
YouTuber recounts his participation in the recent Pyongyang marathon and the ethics of creating content in the DPRK
May 8, 2025
Eleonor Fernandez: What accountability looks like for North Korean abuses
Human rights officer discusses the challenge of holding offenders responsible and investigating violations in the DPRK
May 1, 2025
Ask a North Korean: What’s the biggest falsehood you’ve heard about the DPRK?
A defector writes about claims of underground North Korean churches and what faith is really like under Kim family rule
North Korea’s new skyscraper street, rejecting drone claims and defector numbers
NK News’ Joon Ha Park discusses Kim Jong Un at a ribbon cutting and the UN aviation body’s decision on DPRK complaint
April 22, 2025
Cathi Choi: How inter-Korean conflict harms women’s rights
Co-director of Women Cross DMZ discusses who benefits from division of peninsula and the role of women in peace process
April 18, 2025
38 North Korean refugees enter South in first quarter, most of them young adults
Seoul says new arrivals largely left DPRK before pandemic, as North’s border controls continue to limit defections
April 17, 2025
From defector to defender: One lawyer’s fight for North Korean human rights
In interview, Lee Young-hyeon shares how he became the first DPRK escapee to pass the bar exam in the South
April 17, 2025
Ask a North Korean: What is one item you wished you could have brought with you?
A defector writes about her memories of loved ones and what she regrets leaving behind that still impacts her today
