Concerns Raised Over 'Chain Defections' Before North Korea Border Opens
Taeyongho: "Signs of Additional Defections... Need to Support Defector Rush"
Amid the disappearance of the families of North Korean consulate staff stationed in Vladivostok, Russia, it was recently revealed that a North Korean diplomat working in Europe defected. There are also prospects that a 'chain defection' could follow ahead of North Korea's border reopening.
According to government officials on the 9th, a North Korean diplomat working in Europe defected several weeks ago. Although the exact location of service and the group involved in the defection have not been confirmed, it is reported that some family members of the diplomat moved together. However, both the Ministry of Unification and the National Intelligence Service stated, "There is no information we can confirm." The government does not disclose details such as the method of defection, entry routes, or identities to protect the defectors' safety.
North Korea has kept its borders closed for over three years since the COVID-19 outbreak. However, recent signs of resuming railway trade between North Korea and China, and North Korea and Russia, suggest that the borders may reopen soon. Accordingly, there are expectations that a chain defection of North Korean diplomats and overseas dispatch personnel could continue. It is anticipated that once the border blockade is lifted, a large-scale replacement of overseas personnel will occur, leading to a series of defections by those unwilling to return to North Korea.
Earlier, on the 4th, two family members of a North Korean consulate staff in Vladivostok, Russia, went missing. They are Kim (43), the wife of Park, and their son Park (15). Park was dispatched to Russia by the North Korean airline Korea Air's trade delegation and was managing a restaurant called Goryeogwan, which earned foreign currency locally. Park entered Pyongyang in 2019 for an inspection but did not return. Subsequently, his wife Kim operated the restaurant as a 'proxy manager.' In October last year, the restaurant's deputy manager attempted to defect but was caught. The deputy manager is likely to be repatriated and executed as soon as the border opens, and there is a possibility that Kim, the proxy manager, may also be held responsible, which is considered a background to the recent disappearance.
A source familiar with North Korean affairs told Asia Economy in a phone interview on the same day, "The fact that the family went abroad together means that Park's family was trusted by the authorities," but added, "There is also a possibility that problems arose from the moment Park returned to Pyongyang for inspection." If Park was summoned to Pyongyang first due to some issue, the rest of the family could also be in danger. The source explained, "When North Korea purges overseas personnel, they do not summon the family all at once but bring them in separately to show that it is safe, and it is not uncommon for family members who remained abroad, like Kim, to defect after receiving news that the family members who returned to the home country encountered problems."
Taeyongho: "We Must Help the North Korean Elite Defection Rush"
Taeyongho, a former North Korean diplomat and current member of the People Power Party, also supported the view that a chain defection could continue. On the previous day, Taeyongho stated on Facebook, "It is understood that additional movements of North Korean diplomats or overseas workers seeking defection or asylum have been ongoing recently," and "I am often surprised when juniors I thought were still in Pyongyang suddenly appear in front of me in Seoul after defecting to South Korea." He introduced that he met two trade delegation employees he knew from North Korea separately in Seoul this year, describing them as "people who held relatively high positions, earning large sums of money while working as trade workers overseas."
Taeyongho cited 'economic difficulties' and 'family separation' as reasons for the continued defection of North Korean overseas officials. He explained, "Diplomats and embassy staff who came to the North Korean embassy in Beijing intending to return to Pyongyang after their terms ended in Europe or Southeast Asia ended up stranded in Beijing due to border closures, losing all their savings and becoming penniless," adding, "Since COVID-19, the number of people who entered North Korea but could not return to overseas posts has increased, leading to what is being called the North Korean version of 'separated families.'"
Furthermore, Taeyongho suggested that the South Korean government should provide jobs and other support to encourage further defections among North Korean elites. He said, "The recent resumption by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration of appointing high-ranking defector officials as research fellows at the National Security Strategy Institute under the National Intelligence Service, which had been halted during the Moon Jae-in administration, is a good start," and proposed, "The most effective shortcut to peaceful unification is to create a 'defection rush' among more North Korean elites."
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