북한주민의 국경이동과 처벌실태 = The Forcible Deportations of Border-crossing North Koreans: the Process and Punishment

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study has attempted an objective analysis of the phenomenon of migrating North Koreans by applying the concept of border-crossing. The study has reviewed the internal factors that forced illegal border crossing, and external factors that lured them to violate borders illegally. Since the food crisis, the North Korean-Chinese border has served as a crucial channel of survival for many North Koreans. But, even after the food shortage was greatly alleviated thanks to the international humanitarian assistance, many North Koreans seem to perceive border crossinginto China as a window of new opportunities. To be sure, there exist established systems allowing for legal international travels, such as passports/visas and border travel permits, but a great majority of North Koreans have been crossing the borders unlawfully. By employing a new concept of border-crossing rather than defection,this study has tried to analyze the act of border crossing from the perspectives of North Korean inhabitants and their needs and expectations. From this perspective, it is necessary to point out that treating the problem of border-crossing North Koreans simply as a political issue has made its solution more difficult, because in the case of majority of North Koreans who had to cross the border the economic factor, or the need to feed their family, was the most acute and primary motive for their decision to cross the border, in spite of risks and dangers. In the process, however, they had to face undue personal burdens of arrests and penalties, including possible charges of political crime, which they could avoid only by seeking a safe haven in countries like South Korea, Japan or a third country. Therefore, the international community must now approach this border-crossing phenomenon from a variety of angles, and more practical and protective measures have to be devised for these displaced persons by all the parties concerned, including China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea. It would also be useful to approach the NorthKorean migrants issue from the perspectives of immigration /emigrationwhich is part of national policies of every government.