The number of North Korean defectors has dropped from over 1,000 in 2019 to about one-tenth since 2021. The decline has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of the border between North Korea and China, but why has the number of ...
The number of North Korean defectors has dropped from over 1,000 in 2019 to about one-tenth since 2021. The decline has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of the border between North Korea and China, but why has the number of North Korean defectors not increased as much as before despite the endemic and the liberalization of movement? This study argues that the rapid development of surveillance technology based on biometrics in China, and the use of AI-enabled arrests rather than physical arrests of traditional defectors, has contributed to the decline in defections. We explore how digital authoritarianism in China and North Korea constrains defectors and explain why, unless something dramatic changes, the number of defectors is unlikely to increase in the future.