Essay --

North Korea China’s North Korean Refugee Dilemma The current state of North Korea’s economy and policy is what has led to the explosive migration of refugees to China and South Korea. The collapse of the Soviet Union as well as the death of Kim Il Sung are two of the biggest factors leading to North Korea’s downward spiral, and the rate of defection continues to increase. The leading reason for this great migration is the serious food crisis, dismal living conditions, labor exploitation, violation of human rights, and political persecution. North Korean’s seek freedom, ironically, in China, North Korea’s biggest political ally and trading partner. As a fellow communist state sharing a border, China is well known for its hostility towards refugees. The country maintains the mindset that it has the moral obligation to return all defectors back to where they came from, where they will most likely be forced to work in concentration camps or killed, along with their families. Even defectors who are successful have the difficulty of living with insecure legal status, and risk of deportat...