Wed Sep 25 02:05:13 UTC 2024: ## China Tightens Grip on North Korean Defectors, Using Technology and Quotas for Deportations

**Seoul/Beijing** – China has stepped up its efforts to crack down on undocumented North Korean migrants, utilizing advanced surveillance technology, biometric data collection, and new deportation centers, according to a Reuters investigation. This intensified crackdown is making it significantly harder for North Korean defectors to escape their country and reach safety in South Korea.

Documents and interviews with defectors, missionaries, and experts reveal a multifaceted approach. Border police in China’s northeast have been assigned quotas to identify and expel undocumented migrants, with performance metrics emphasizing high deportation rates.

China’s new surveillance infrastructure includes hundreds of facial recognition cameras and extra boat patrols along the 1,400km border. Police are also monitoring North Koreans’ social media accounts and collecting their fingerprints, voice, and facial data.

This intensified crackdown began during the COVID-19 pandemic and has accelerated since 2023. While Beijing denies targeting North Korean defectors specifically, the measures are focused on areas adjoining North Korea, with little evidence of similar actions at other borders.

Experts believe China’s actions are driven by multiple factors:

* **Maintaining stability:** China fears that a large influx of North Korean defectors could destabilize North Korea, potentially leading to reunification under South Korean leadership and increased US influence on the peninsula.
* **Leveraging influence:** China’s ability to control the fate of undocumented North Koreans gives it leverage in its relationship with Pyongyang.
* **Managing a thorny issue:** Beijing seeks to manage the complex issue of North Korean migration while ensuring stability on its periphery.

The impact of these measures is significant:

* **Increased risk of capture:** The Transitional Justice Working Group reports a dramatic increase in defectors being arrested by Chinese police, with estimates suggesting about 70% of defectors attempting to reach South Korea in the past two years were caught, compared to 20% previously.
* **Decreased success rate:** The number of defectors reaching South Korea has declined since 2017, attributed to tighter border control. However, there has been a recent increase since the end of the pandemic.

While Beijing denies targeting North Korean defectors, its actions are raising concerns among human rights groups and South Korea, which is actively seeking to prevent the forcible repatriation of North Korean defectors.

This latest crackdown highlights the precarious situation faced by North Koreans seeking freedom, with the risks of capture and deportation growing significantly.

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