North Korean Defectors Captured on US border
15 North Korean defectors were detained trying to enter the US according to the Chosun.
Fifteen presumed North Korean defectors who had settled in South Korea were arrested for trying to sneak into the U.S.
The Los Angeles-based Association of People From Five Northern Provinces said on Sunday it learned that 15 North Koreans were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol as they tried to smuggle themselves into the U.S. from Tijuana, Mexico. But the association’s president Kim Ho-jeong added it remained to be confirmed whether the 15 really were defectors.
The 15, who are being held at an immigration detention center in San Diego, California, said they intended to seek political asylum in the U.S. after previously settling in South Korea. Kim Yong, the head of another defectors’ association in Los Angeles, said that under U.S. law such individuals were usually deported.
I guess it easier to escape North Korea than enter the US? It is sad to see these defectors escape from North Korea to South Korea, only to see them try and escape the prejudice in South Korea by trying to sneak into the US. With the new North Korea Human Rights Act this incident could turn into a political football. Hopefully this story will continued to be covered so we can all learn what happens to the 15 defectors.
