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The small ship was intercepted off the coast of the city of Sokcho and the passengers were brought to safety, the South Korean military said.
Published on October 24, 2023 07:23
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On the coast of the South Korean city of Sokcho, September 7, 2020. (ED JONES / AFP)
A small boat carrying a group of North Koreans crossed into South Korean waters, the South Korean military said on Tuesday, October 24. This was apparently a rare act of defection by sea. The ship was intercepted off the eastern city of Sokcho and the people on board were brought to safety, the South Korean military general staff added.
Four North Koreans were on board the boat and “expressed their intention to defect,” Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed government source. More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the 1950-53 conflict. But the number fell to 67 last year after Pyongyang imposed a strict border closure to protect against the Covid-19 pandemic. Only a handful of defectors from the north have so far crossed the maritime border, or demilitarized zone, that separates the two countries, which officially remain at war.
The vast majority of them first go to neighboring China, where they sometimes stay for years before reaching South Korea via third countries. Most of the tens of thousands of North Koreans who have fled repression and poverty in their country have chosen to cross the border into China, where they face arrest and deportation. If repatriated, these North Korean refugees could face severe sanctions in their country, even the death penalty, according to human rights defenders.
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