N. Korean defectors found in wooden boat yearn for life in S. Korea

It was reported that a North Korean family in a small wooden vessel traveling over South Korea's side of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea on early Tuesday morning testified that the defectors aspired to live in South Korea and made a long-term plan to flee from the regime. Also, they reportedly said that they loathe the North Korean system and wish to enjoy free life, emphasizing that they were in search of freedom.

According to reports collected by The Dong-A Ilbo as of Wednesday, they made the statements in the first investigation since they were detected and identified by the South Korean Maritime Police and military on the NLL in the East Sea on Tuesday. “Since they were told that life is better in South Korea, they had long had a yearning for it,” a source from the South Korean government said.

Two North Korean families defected in a fish boat around the NLL in the West Sea in May had testified that they happened to get a glimpse of what it is like to live in South Korea while sneakily watching South Korean TV programs or coming across USB drives in balloons sent from the South by North Korean defectors’ groups. Presumably, the family found in a wooden boat might have had a similar experience.

According to their testimonies, starving in a famine-stricken community, the family was tightly controlled and harshly suppressed by the regime. Sick and tired of the North Korean system, they harbored a detailed plan to run away. They argued that they came here in search of liberty, said another source in the government.

Related authorities found where they lived in North Korea, when and where they departed and details of their paths to the South. However, they will not make public their identity given that any disclosure of who they are can put them and the rest of their family in North Korea at risk. Sent to Seoul, they have gone through joint investigations by South Korean authorities.

An investigation of the small wooden vessel has also been underway since it was delivered to a military base in Yangyang, Gangwon Province. A source familiar with this issue said that as news reports have been released the North Korean regime is likely to look into the defectors including where they defected while holding persons in charge accountable.

Capturing abnormal signs, the military urgently dispatched naval fast boats and a maritime patrol aircraft. Later, a vessel which was suspected to be a wooden boat was caught on radar at the south side of the NLL, northeast of Sokcho, Gangwon Province. Reportedly, the military looked carefully at the possibility that they would violate the NLL and defect while briefing South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on the issue in real time.


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com