Some North Koreans were trapped in China against their wishes when the borders shut. An escapee interviewed by another rights group, Rights for Female North Korean Defectors, was imprisoned after being forcibly repatriated from China. A defector who spoke to The Economist and other media outlets in South Korea, at a naturalisation centre for North Korean arrivals, exemplifies this. In 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics, China permitted seven North Korean defectors to travel to third countries. Before the Olympics, China and the West were jointly trying to talk the North Koreans out of their nuclear ambitions.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 27, 2023 13:27 UTC