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[Student Essay] China’s Silent Complicity: Why North Korean Defectors Remain Stateless

Published: 14 Aug. 2025, 19:35

Representatives from civic groups hold a press conference in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on May 6, 2024, urging China to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors.[YONHAP]

written by Ci Ah Kim (Korea International School)and Olivia Ha(Seoul Foreign School)

Ci Ah Kim (Korea International School)

Olivia Ha (Seoul Foreign School)

“Please don’t send me back to North Korea.”
These were the final words of a female North Korean defector who had been detained by Chinese authorities. This is just one of the many instances where the escape from unimaginable repression ended in misery. She was most likely forcibly returned to North Korea, a place where torture, imprisonment, and execution await.

China classifies migrants from other countries, such as Venezuela, Syria, and Afghanistan, as refugees except for North Korean migrants in their country. According to the National Museum of American Diplomacy, a defector is “an official giving up allegiance to one state for another, often due to disagreement over government policy.” Although China is a signatory to both the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture, it continues to classify fleeing North Koreans as defectors and “illegal economic migrants.” By defining North Koreans with such labels, China denies the protection guaranteed to North Korean defectors as refugees under international law. This is an intentional political decision made through China’s robust, secretive agreements with North Korea.

China has historically been a popular escape route for North Koreans seeking to flee from humanitarian malpractice and political dictatorship, and the reasons are twofold. First, North Korea shares an extensive border with China. Additionally, with the presence of ethnic Korean communities situated in northeastern China, North Korean escapees feel an increased sense of safety and cultural familiarity. However, the North Korean escapees are unaware of how this popular escape route becomes a trap. In line with the Sino-Korean Border Agreement of 1964, the agreement, though never made public, entails all North Korean escapees as criminals, suggesting that these individuals are traitors rather than victims of oppression.

The justification as presented by Beijing—that North Korean escapees are merely economic migrants—is not only factually misleading, but also morally irresponsible. Most defectors are fleeing political persecution, severe famine, and systemic abuse. The 2024 South Korean white paper on North Korean Human Rights documented over 8,200 cases of forced repatriation from
China,with over 75 percent of those forcibly returned being women: victims of forced marriage, sexual trafficking, and exploitation.

Representatives from civic groups hold a press conference in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on May 6, 2024, urging China to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors.[YONHAP]

This view is challenged by international legal frameworks. For example, Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention explicitly prohibits the return of any person to a country where they may face persecution. Under international human rights law proposed by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), the principle of non-refoulement
guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture. Nonetheless, multiple reports by international organizations, including the Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (UNCOI), have confirmed that North Koreans repatriated from China are subjected to various human rights violations. Examples of violations include torture, forced labor, sexual violence, forced abortions, and public executions. In 2014, the UNCOI formally warned China of its complicity in the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors, emphasizing their potential role in facilitating crimes against humanity.

Russia also uses its alliance with North Korea to evade international responsibility. Since 2014, the Russian government has operated a refugee processing center in Moscow that offered temporary refugee documentation to North Korean illegal migrants in Russia. These documents were typically valid for only a year and had to be renewed annually. While this system is far from perfect, it at least represents a minimal form of legal recognition. However, this refugee process for illegal North Korean migrants in Russia has sharply declined in recent years. Following the start of the Russo–Ukraine War (2022) and especially after the visit by North Korea’s Minister of Social Security in June of 2024, and the visit by the Minister of State Security in May 2025, Russia has drastically reduced its willingness to issue refugee documents to North Koreans.

WASHINGTON— Justin (second from left), a North Korean defector, speaks about the dire human rights situation in North Korea during the “Public Session with Survivors of North Korean Human Rights Abuses” held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18, 2024. [YONHAP]

Instead of focusing on international law and basic human dignity, China prioritizes political relations and bilateral ties with Pyongyang, North Korea. This problem is a solution for China to maintain its alliance with North Korea by refusing to call North Korean defectors "refugees" and choosing not to follow the rules of protecting them. China does not lack awareness of the
protection laws, but rather chooses to focus on preserving its strategic partnership with North Korea.

South Korea must take stronger action now. New President Lee Jae Myung has emphasized the importance of maintaining stable relationships with both China and Russia, which may position South Korea to urge China to halt all forced repatriations. The South Korean government can also take steps to lead a more assertive and principled diplomatic campaign with the UNHCR to gain access to detention facilities, while establishing formal legal pathways for North Korean defectors to resettle safely in South Korea.

Now that the truth has met our eyes, let us not be innocent bystanders for those North Korean women and children facing forced repatriation.