(Page 19 of 25) - NORTH KOREANS: ARE THEY BURDEN OR BLESSING? - A STUDY OF SOUTH KOREA'S POLICY TOWARD TALBUKJA authored by Choi, Jeany.

interest. Large-scale public work projects hiring Talbukja as part of the government’s "New
Deal" plan to be implemented from 2005 can be one answer to the Talbukja issue along with
effective vocational training courses for them.

The final thought to add is that although it is beyond this paper’s gamut to discuss

whether Talbukja can qualify for a legal status as a refugee, I will briefly share my own opinion
on this issue since this issue has been and is one of the most controversial and important
subjects that has been discussed in recent years.

In my opinion, most Talbukja, whether they

escaped from North Korea because of its unbearable political oppression and infringements of
human rights or escaped from poverty in North Korea, should qualify for refugee or asylum
status once they leave North Korea. This is because, first, in China, because of their status as
illegal migrants, these Talbukja become vulnerable to physical, emotional, and sexual
exploitation.

Numerous cases of human rights abuses, including the trafficking of North

Korean women and forced labor, have been reported by Talbukja themselves and many NGO
groups.

For instance, one woman, who would only go by the name Young, recounted her

helplessness, humiliating, and violent experience in China, stating, “If you are a North Korean
woman crossing the border, it is almost impossible to survive without being abused or sold. It
happens to almost all of us, because they know we are vulnerable” (Faiola, 2004: A20).
Secondly, because North Korea see those who escape its country as political criminals and
traitors, if they are caught and repatriated, Talbukja face hard labor, imprisonment or possible
death, as Article 47 of the North Korean Criminal Law.

According to Reuters, in January of

2005, North Korea executed about 70 Talbukja, who were captured in China and sent home, in
public to discourage others from trying to slip across the border into China.

As they know that

they will be punished severely if they are sent back home, these Talbukja, while in foreign
countries, especially in China,

live in constant fear of being caught and repatriated.

To sum up, those who believe that these people will go back to North Korea once the

hunger, which is usually the main reason why they cross the border, is abated are terribly
mistaken. Harsh experiences, psychological shock that they received, the vicious cycle of
discrimination and despite what they faced while crossing the river under cover of darkness,
arrest and beatings, and forceful repatriation and punishment they can never be fully addressed
through the economic approach of improving the food situation in North Korea.

The problem

of Talbukja is an international indicator of human rights status of Northeast Asian countries
including China, Russia, South Korea, and of course, North Korea. The issue of Talbukja is
basically of a humanitarian nature in a sense that they are entitled to protection under universal
human rights and thus, the request for refugee status for them in the context of international law
is, therefore, palpable.

The Article 47 of the North Korean Criminal Law provides that “if citizens of North Korea betray the

motherland and people of North Korea and flee to other countries including that of enemies; engage in
espionage; assist an enemy either directly or indirectly, then such traitors will be sentence to a minimum of 7
years of labor in correctional camp and the maximum is death. Jaechun Won, “Addressing Issues of North
Korean Refugees in China,” pp.206-207.

“N. Korea has executed 70 returned refugees,” Reuters online edition,, February 11, 2005.

Available at http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SEO134363.htm.

North Koreans are sent back to North Korea under the terms of a secret 1986 agreement between China and

North Korea to repatriate North Koreans in China. Ministry of Unification, Response to North Korean Escapees,
September 1998.