A photo taken of the North Korea – China border in 2014. (Lawrence Wang, Flickr, Creative Commons)
News of a North Korean soldier’s recent defection to the South is quietly spreading among people living along the North Korea-China border. Due to intensifying crackdowns, people are discussing the incident only with their most trusted acquaintances, slowing the spread of information.
“Word has quietly gone around among residents of Hoeryong recently that a soldier crossed over the military demarcation line into South Korea,” a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province said recently. “News of the incident is being carefully shared only among people who trust one another.”
In parts of North Korea along the border with China, users of Chinese-made mobile phones spread domestic news the authorities deem unfit to share, as well as information from the outside world. Rumors of the defection are also being shared, albeit in hushed tones, through the same channels.
According to the source, people who heard the news say “a soldier safely crossed into South Korea,” that it was “fortunate he wasn’t caught,” and that what the soldier did was “amazing since it couldn’t have been an easy decision.”
However, people are cautious about discussing the defection due to surveillance and crackdowns by authorities. Even in marketplaces, which used to be hubs for sharing such information, people are wary of one another, whispering news of the incident only to those they truly trust.
Information spreads slowly
“In the past, the markets would have been buzzing with news of the defection, but everyone is quiet now because they’ll get called into the Ministry of State Security or police if somebody informs on them,” the source said. “People are being even more careful because this country is very sensitive about rumors of defections.”
Information is not spreading as quickly as before, but people who have heard news of the defection through acquaintances have welcomed it, saying it gave them a sliver of hope when defections have become all but impossible since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When life was tough, defections were the final escape, but now, nobody can do so lightly since you really have to risk your life trying,” the source said. “Nevertheless, many people continue to look for opportunities, and the latest defection has given them hope — that maybe one day, their day will come.”
In Ryanggang province’s Hyesan, another border city, local residents have quietly discussed the soldier’s defection. Sitting just across from China, Hyesan is a place where outside information arrives relatively quickly. Yet even here, news has traveled slower than in the past due to intensified surveillance and crackdowns.
Hyesan residents who have learned of the defection have shown interest in the soldier’s motivations.
“Nowadays, you get shot just for trying to cross into China, and soldiers would know better than anyone that getting caught trying to cross into South Korea means the firing squad,” a source in Ryanggang province said. “That the soldier decided to try anyway has led to speculation that he must have endured tasks, pressure, beatings or other acts of cruelty that he could not endure in his unit.”
“People who heard the news say that regardless of his reason, it was fortunate that he safely crossed over in the South,” the source said. “There must be many people who hope their chance will come, too, even if they can’t say so openly.”
On the morning of Oct. 19, a North Korean soldier crossed the central stretch of the MDL and announced his intention to defect to the South. The defection was the first by a soldier in a year and two months following a case in Kosong, Kangwon province, in August of last year. It was also the first defection by a soldier since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration in South Korea.
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