North Korea’s recent actions have sparked international concern, with two women, Ri and Kang, being executed following a public trial in Chongjin, North Korea, on August 31. According to Jang Se-yul, head of the Seoul-based human rights organization Gioryeol Unification Solidarity, the women were accused of helping other North Koreans in China escape to South Korea. Radio Free Asia Report.
Ri, 39, and Kang, 43, are among nearly 500 North Koreans who will be forcibly repatriated by China in October 2023. Nine other women received life sentences on similar charges, highlighting the extreme measures taken by the North Korean government to prevent escapes.
According to Radio Free Asia, a resident of Chongjin reported that the two women faced a public trial at a market attended by hundreds of residents and merchants. The trial, which lasted just over an hour, began at 11 a.m. and ended with the execution of both women by Hamgyong provincial authorities on the same day.
Notably, these executions are part of a larger pattern of North Korea’s treatment of citizens who try to flee the country or help others flee the country. The country has a history of severely punishing people who try to escape or help others do so.
The majority of people fleeing North Korea and seeking refuge in China are women. After crossing the border, many fall into the clutches of Chinese handlers who take advantage of their desperation and sell them into slavery. These women are often forced into prostitution or to become unofficial wives of Chinese men.
”These two women were killed because they sent North Koreans who had fled from China to their enemy country South Korea. When they first fled, they were sold to a Chinese adult entertainment business. When other North Korean women working there said they wanted to go to South Korea, they arranged to send them there,” Mr. Se-yul said. RFA Korean.
The international community, including South Korea, has called on China to stop these forced repatriations and provide asylum or safe passage to North Koreans fleeing their country. However, China says it has a bilateral agreement with Pyongyang that requires the repatriation of North Koreans, calling them “economic migrants.”
Human rights groups have condemned China’s actions, and stressed that as a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the UN Convention against Torture, China should not repatriate anyone who would face persecution or torture. However, China has forcibly repatriated more than 670 North Koreans since 2020, including a large group of 500 people in October 2023.
