Two North Korean defectors who were forcibly repatriated from China last October have reportedly been executed, marking the first time news of such executions has been disclosed since their return.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA) on September 12, citing sources, the two were executed on charges of trafficking North Korean women to South Korea, considered an enemy state.
Jang Se-yul, head of the South Korean human rights group Gyeore-ul Unification Solidarity, revealed the news in an interview with RFA.
Jang stated, “On August 31, in Sunam District of Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, after a public trial, a 39-year-old woman named Lee and a 43-year-old man named Kang were executed.”
He added, “Their crime was human trafficking. The reason for their execution was that they helped send North Korean defectors to South Korea. When they initially defected, they were sold into entertainment venues in China. Later, they assisted other defectors in reaching South Korea, facilitating their escape.”
The public trial, held on the August 31, reportedly involved a total of 11 North Korean women. A judge from the North Hamgyong Province Court sentenced Lee and Kang to death for helping 41 women defect to South Korea, while the remaining nine received life sentences for human trafficking in China, according to Jang.
Jang Se-yul, a North Korean human rights activist and defector himself, has been closely monitoring the forced repatriation of defectors since October last year, when the practice resumed after a COVID-19 hiatus. He previously reported that 15 defectors were arrested by Chinese authorities on August 21 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, near the China-Southeast Asia border.
Jang stated that he confirmed the details of this case through various sources within North Korea, including Freedom Chosun, an online outlet run by defectors. A source from Hoeryong City in North Hamgyong Province, who witnessed the trial, said it took place at 11 a.m. in front of hundreds of citizens and market vendors, lasting about an hour.
The trial concluded with the North Hamgyong Province Security Bureau deciding to carry out the executions immediately. All 11 women were transported under guard after the sentencing.
Another source, a family member of a defector, also confirmed that two individuals were executed in Chongjin.
Suzanne Scholte, president of the U.S.-based North Korea Freedom Coalition, also confirmed the news during a recent meeting of the coalition, telling RFA that she had received similar information.
One of the women who was executed reportedly helped her younger sister escape to South Korea, where she now resides. The sister said her older sibling was caught trying to flee to South Korea and later ran a business with her Chinese husband in Yanji, Jilin Province, while assisting other defectors in escaping.
Jang Se-yul reported that the younger sister was devastated upon hearing about her sister’s execution.
“When I spoke to her, she cried a lot. Her sister had helped many defectors reach South Korea. She herself had escaped with her sister’s help and went directly to South Korea without having to pass through a Chinese entertainment venue,” Jang said.
This marks the first known instance of defectors being executed after the resumption of forced repatriations between North Korea and China since last October, following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to RFA.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
