Tag

Defectors

All articles tagged with #defectors

world1 month ago•10 min saved

A Decade-Long Escape: North Korea Family's Sea Crossing Ends in Loss and New Beginnings in Seoul

Two North Korean brothers spent a decade plotting a sea escape with nine family members, bribing guards and posing as fishermen to cross the Yellow Sea near the NLL during a spring storm; they reached South Korea in May 2023, their daughter Yeri was born four months later, and two months after that the younger brother Yi-hyeok died in a scuba-diving accident. The surviving brother, Kim Il-hyeok, has since built a new life in Seoul as a chef and forklift operator and now speaks publicly about life in North Korea, having welcomed a second child, Ye-eun.

via CNN|

#defectors #escape #family

international-relations-military-conflict2 years ago•1 min saved

"Ukrainian Defectors Launch Border Incursion into Russia"

Russian paramilitary groups, including the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion, have launched attacks across Russia's borders, with the aim of liberating Russians from what they perceive as a dictatorship under Vladimir Putin's rule. A spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence confirmed the involvement of a third group, the Russian Volunteer Corps, in the attacks, which were not directed by Ukraine. Russia's defense ministry reported repelling the attackers, who were equipped with tanks and armored vehicles, in Belgorod. This marks a continuation of Russian defectors mounting attacks against their homeland, following a similar incident in December.

via Business Insider|

#border-attack #defectors #international-relations-military-conflict

international-conflict2 years ago•1 min saved

"Defecting Putin Allies Pledge to Free Russia Amid Ukrainian Tank Arrival"

Ukrainian military units formed from Russians have reportedly attacked territory within Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions, just days before the election where Vladimir Putin is expected to retain power. The armed groups, consisting of defectors, entered in armored vehicles and engaged in mortar and artillery fire before retreating to their original positions after shelling from the Russian side. This is a developing story with further updates expected.

via Newsweek|

#defectors #international-conflict #military

international-relations2 years ago•3 min saved

North Korean Teens Sentenced to Hard Labor for Watching K-Dramas

A rare video from North Korea shows two teenagers being publicly sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching Korean TV dramas, highlighting the regime's strict control over its citizens' access to foreign culture. The video, obtained by NBC News from the SAND Institute, a think tank working with defectors, is believed to be edited in 2022 and is seen as a warning to deter North Koreans from consuming South Korean entertainment. The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea has tripled in 2021, indicating growing discontent within the reclusive state. The video reinforces a law enacted in 2020, allowing officials to sentence violators to capital punishment for importing or distributing materials showing South Korean culture. Despite the crackdown, some believe that the regime's efforts to suppress South Korean cultural influence will ultimately fail.

via Yahoo News|

#defectors #hard-labor #international-relations

international-politics2 years ago•3 min saved

North Korean Teens Sentenced to Hard Labor for Watching K-Dramas and K-Pop

A rare video from North Korea shows two teenagers being publicly sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean TV dramas, shedding light on the reclusive state's strict control over its citizens' access to foreign culture. The video, obtained by NBC News from the SAND Institute, highlights the regime's crackdown on South Korean entertainment, with the narrator condemning the spread of "rotten puppet regime's culture" to teenagers. The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea has tripled since 2021, while the North Korean leader recently announced the country would no longer seek reunification with the South. The video reinforces a law enacted in 2020, allowing officials to sentence violators to capital punishment for importing or distributing materials showing South Korean culture.

via NBC News|

#defectors #hard-labor #international-politics

international-affairs2 years ago•3 min saved

Russian Volunteers Defect to Ukrainian Army to Fight Against Putin

A growing number of Russian men disillusioned with Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine have joined the Ukrainian military's Siberian Battalion, a special unit formed to accommodate Russian defectors. The battalion, officially part of the regular Ukrainian army, currently numbers a few dozen fighters but aims to have a 300-man-strong unit of Russian fighters. Prospective troops undergo extensive security checks before being offered training and deployed to the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Many of the battalion's members come from Russia's impoverished far east region and hope that a Ukrainian victory will help break Moscow's stranglehold over their region.

via New York Post |

#conflict #defectors #international-affairs

politics2 years ago•10 min saved

"South Korea's Unification Ministry Implements Stricter Measures Towards North Korea"

The number of North Korean defectors reaching South Korea has significantly decreased in recent years, largely due to the pandemic and tightened border restrictions. Hanawon, a government-run center for newly arrived defectors, offers a 12-week resettlement and integration training program to help them adapt to their new lives in the South. However, with fewer defectors arriving, Hanawon has redirected resources to provide additional support and vocational training to those who have already completed the program. The Unification Ministry, responsible for overseeing Korean unification efforts, has undergone organizational changes and has a new, more hawkish leader, raising questions about its role and the future of inter-Korean relations. Additionally, public sentiment in South Korea towards unification has shifted, with a preference for "peaceful division" surpassing the desire for unification in a recent survey.

via NPR|

#defectors #ministry #north-korea

conflictwar2 years ago•2 min saved

"Ukraine's Defectors Extend Invitation to Wagner Troops: Join the Fight Against Putin"

Russian fighters serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces are urging Wagner Group troops to switch sides and join them in their fight against Vladimir Putin's forces to avenge the death of their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion, two rebel groups consisting of defectors and volunteers, are calling on Wagner Group members who have not committed war crimes to join their ranks. The appeal comes after Prigozhin's private jet crashed, killing him and the co-founder of the Wagner Group, Dmitry Utkin. The cause of the crash is unclear, but speculation that Prigozhin was killed on Putin's orders has been denied by the Kremlin.

via Newsweek|

#conflictwar #defectors #revenge

world3 years ago•1 min saved

North Korea Builds Border Wall to Prevent Defections During Pandemic.

North Korea has spent the pandemic building a border wall to prevent defectors from leaving the country. The regime constructed hundreds of miles of border fences with China and Russia, according to satellite imagery and accounts of activists and defectors. The traditional North Korea-China escape route is now effectively over, with only 67 defectors making it to South Korea last year. North Korean authorities have referred to increased security measures to keep out COVID-19 and "other alien things."

via New York Post |

#border-wall #china #covid-19

politics3 years ago•8 min saved

North Korea Builds Massive Border Wall During Pandemic

North Korea has built hundreds of kilometers of new or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts along its northern frontier with China and Russia since the pandemic began, cutting off routes plied by smugglers and defectors. The sealing of the border is likely to have lasting effects, including for North Korea’s nascent mercantile class and in the towns where thriving informal trade previously offered many people, particularly women, a chance to make their own way. Only 67 defectors made it to South Korea last year, compared with 1,047 in 2019, official data show.

via Reuters|

#border-wall #covid-19 #defectors

human-rights3 years ago•7 min saved

China May Deport North Korean Defectors Amid COVID Border Control Easing.

Looser COVID-related border controls between North Korea and China may lead to the deportation of over a thousand North Korean defectors who have been detained in China indefinitely. Many female defectors are vulnerable to trafficking and forced marriages in China. Human rights advocates are concerned that forcibly repatriated people are at risk of being sent to North Korean political prison camps. China considers the defectors economic migrants and is unlikely to heed calls to not repatriate them.

via NPR|

#border-controls #china #defectors

human-rights3 years ago•1 min saved

Human Rights Abuses in North Korea: Executions, Torture, and Sterilization.

North Korea executes its citizens for sharing South Korean media, religious activities, and drug crimes, according to a report by South Korea's Unification Ministry. The report is based on testimony collected from over 500 North Koreans who fled their homeland. The report also details rampant state-led human rights abuses, including public executions, torture, and arbitrary arrests. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said the report should better inform the international community of the North's "gruesome" abuses, and North Korea deserves "not a single penny" of economic aid while it pursues its nuclear ambitions.

via Al Jazeera English|

#defectors #executions #human-rights

human-rights3 years ago•2 min saved

North Korea's Human Rights Abuses Exposed in Recent Reports.

North Korea executes its citizens for drug crimes, sharing South Korean media, and religious activities, according to a report by South Korea's Unification Ministry. The report is based on testimony collected from over 500 North Koreans who fled their homeland between 2017 and 2022. The report also details rampant state-led human rights abuses, including public executions, torture, and arbitrary arrests. The number of North Korean defectors has fallen sharply due to tighter border security, with only 67 arrivals in 2022.

via Reuters|

#defectors #executions #human-rights

world-news3 years ago•2 min saved

North Korean defector compares living conditions in North and South Korea.

A North Korean defector who escaped to South Korea in 2017 says she wishes she could return to the North and "die there." She and other defectors spoke to Bloomberg about the difficulties they faced after reaching South Korea, including homesickness and struggling to make a living. Despite the challenges, North Korea has one of the world's worst human rights records, and its people struggle with famine and intense food insecurity. Over 33,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since 1998.

via Insider|

#defectors #homesickness #human-rights

world-news3 years ago•2 min saved

North Korean Defectors Struggle to Adapt in South Korea.

A North Korean defector who escaped to South Korea in 2017 says she wishes she could return to the North and "die there." She and other defectors spoke to Bloomberg about the difficulties they faced after reaching South Korea, including loneliness, homesickness, and financial struggles. Despite the challenges, North Korea has one of the world's worst human rights records, and its people struggle with famine and intense food insecurity. Over 33,000 people have defected from North Korea to South Korea since 1998, but success has been elusive for many.

via Yahoo News|

#defectors #homesickness #human-rights