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North Korean defector Jeong (female in her 30s), who was preparing to travel to China, changed her travel plans after recently receiving a text message from a police officer in charge of personal protection.
The text said, "There are continuous cases of North Korean defectors leaving for or transiting through China being denied entry, being deported, and being arrested or detained by Chinese police."
There was also a request: “If you are planning a trip to China, refrain from doing so or change your travel destination to another place. If you already have a plan, inform the police officer in charge of your travel information, including airline tickets.”
Mr. Jeong told the BBC, "After receiving this text, I canceled my trip to China and changed my plans to travel to Japan instead."
As a result of BBC coverage, it was confirmed that most North Korean defectors who are under police protection in South Korea have received such warnings about traveling to China.
As of the end of August this year, the number of North Korean defectors subject to police protection was 20,401, or 64.7% of North Korean defectors living in Korea.
The period of personal protection for North Korean defectors is set at 5 years after moving into residence, and may be extended thereafter, taking into account the individual's will and the need for personal protection.
Why do North Korean defectors with South Korean nationality and passports receive these ‘Caution Travel to China’ text messages?
End of TOP News
Photo source: provided by North Korean defectors
Why was the recommendation to refrain from traveling to China issued?
The police information text obtained by the BBC explains that immigration screening has been strengthened in relation to China's recent implementation of the temporary visa waiver policy.
In particular, it was confirmed that many of the crackdowns on North Korean defectors had used counterfeit passports in China or had Chinese household registration in the past.
If a problem such as arrest or detention occurs in the local area, instructions were also delivered to immediately notify the police officer in charge and request consular assistance from the Republic of Korea.
Seo Jae-pyeong, chairman of the North Korean Defectors Association, also received a call from a police officer in charge of personal protection last summer. The police officer in charge asked Chairman Seo if he had any plans to visit China and asked him to be especially careful if he were to visit China.
This cautionary information was quickly shared in the North Korean defector community. Chairman Seo said that in a group chat room where dozens of North Korean defectors participate, information about actual travel experiences in China and immigration screening, including police warnings regarding travel to China, is exchanged.
A personal protection officer at a front-line police station who sent this text message to North Korean defectors told the BBC, "Following the instructions of the National Police Agency, we delivered cautionary information about traveling to China for the personal safety of North Korean defectors within the jurisdiction. We also sent the contents of an international agreement stipulating the right to receive consular assistance in case of possible arrest or detention."
An official from the National Police Agency told the BBC, "In accordance with the request for cooperation from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we provided relevant information through personnel in charge of personal protection of North Korean defectors." As cases of crackdowns on North Korean defectors are recurring at Chinese airports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested guidance on caution when traveling to China and the right to consular assistance.
However, the National Police Agency stated that it does not know how many North Korean defectors were actually denied entry into China or were arrested and detained. This is because there is no mandatory system for North Korean defectors to report to police officers in charge of personal protection when leaving the country.
Photo source provided by Kim So-yeon
‘An unexpected question asked during immigration screening’
Even before the government-level warning notice was issued, there were cases where North Korean defectors of South Korean nationality received additional confirmation regarding their past stay in China during the process of entering China.
Kim So-yeon, who is active as a singer in Korea, is one of them.
Soyeon told the BBC that she visited Qingdao, China on an interpreting schedule last fall and was asked an unexpected question during immigration at the airport.
It is said that after taking fingerprints during the immigration process, the examiner took turns looking at the monitor and Soyeon's face for a long time. Questions soon followed.
“The examiner immediately asked me, ‘Have you ever lived in China and do you have a Chinese family register?’”
Soyeon actually had a Chinese family register when she stayed in China after escaping from North Korea. However, because I thought that admitting this could cause personal problems, I answered that I had never done that.
When Soyeon answered in Chinese, the examiner asked again how she spoke Chinese so well. I answered that I learned it in Korea, but the questions did not end there.
The examiner handed me paper and a pen and told me to write Chinese characters myself. Soyeon said she felt like they were trying to compare even her handwriting with past records.
“They asked me to write the letters I knew, so I intentionally wrote them in a completely different order.”
After receiving additional questions from the examiner and a search of her bag, Soyeon was finally permitted to enter the country.
Ms. Soyeon said that she suspected that the Chinese authorities were already aware of her past records, as they asked her whether she lived in China and had a family register right after her fingerprints were taken.
Soyeon did not visit China again after that.
How does China verify the identities of North Korean defectors?
How do Chinese authorities check the past North Korean escape and stay in China history of people entering China with a South Korean passport?
In the past, the resident registration number itself served as a clue to reveal the identity of a North Korean defector.
Many North Korean defectors who settled through Hanawon before 2007 were given resident registration numbers based on Anseong, Gyeonggi-do, where Hanawon is located, and the first three digits of the last seven digits began with '125' for men and '225' for women.
Because of this, problems have been raised where people are identified as North Korean defectors during the Chinese visa issuance or entry process, or even ordinary residents with the same area code are mistaken for North Korean defectors.
Since 2007, the Korean government has changed the method of assigning resident registration numbers based on the actual place of residence rather than the location of Hanawon.
Later, in 2009, the law was revised to allow North Korean defectors who were previously assigned a number based on the location of Hanawon to apply for correction of their resident registration number.
In addition to resident registration numbers, local identification records used by North Korean defectors during their past stays in China may also serve as clues to identity verification.
Seo Jae-pyeong, chairman of the North Korean Defectors Association, explained that among North Korean defectors who have lived in China for a long period of time, there have been cases where they paid money to obtain Chinese family registers or identities in someone else's name for their personal safety. He said he was aware of cases where people returned to China after settling in Korea and were asked to change their past Chinese status.
Here, there is a possibility that biometric information such as fingerprints and facial information may be used for identity verification.
The North Korean Human Rights Information Center announced in a research presentation last year that it had confirmed cases where biometric information, including fingerprints and facial information, of North Korean defectors who had stayed in China were collected.
Researcher Shin Dong-hwi, who conducted the study, told the BBC, "Basically what is collected is fingerprints and facial information, and depending on the region, there were cases where blood was collected or voice was recorded."
However, he explained that this measure is not a separate policy targeting only North Korean defectors.
“Rather than a policy targeting North Korean defectors, it is a policy targeting foreigners residing illegally in China. Since China does not recognize North Korean defectors as refugees, it appears that the same applies to North Korean defectors.”
Researcher Shin analyzed that in particular, there is a possibility that North Korean defectors who used different ID cards or registered identity information in China in the past will be linked to their past records if they re-enter China after settling in South Korea.
The BBC interviewed North Korean defectors who were stopped while entering China in the past and heard about the situation at the time.
North Korean defector Lee Han-sol (pseudonym, woman in her 50s) said she visited China several times after settling in South Korea, but was stopped all three times when she attempted to enter China around 2018. He said he had been going back and forth to China without any problems before.
What Hansol Lee finds most questionable is that the Chinese side knew his identity even before collecting his fingerprints.
“I was standing in line to go through immigration, but before I could get my fingerprints taken, three police officers came and called me aside. They looked at my passport and said, ‘You are a North Korean defector.’ I repeatedly said, ‘I am a citizen of the Republic of Korea.’”
He had used a Chinese ID card while staying in China in the past, and had been arrested in China in 2009, so he knew there was a possibility that his fingerprints could remain there.
However, he said that since he was stopped before his fingerprints could be taken at the time, it is still unknown how the Chinese verified his past identity.
The Chinese side said that Mr. Lee could not enter the country because he was a North Korean defector, but did not explain the specific reason for the entry ban or the method of confirming his identity.
Lee Han-sol said that he stayed in a separate room for about 24 hours on all three occasions, and that his cell phone and passport were also recovered before he boarded the plane to return home.
In the end, he returned to Korea without being able to enter China, and has not visited China again since.
Photo source: News1
Visa-free China, North Korean defectors still have concerns
Currently, holders of regular Korean passports can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days for tourism, business, visiting relatives, exchanges, and transit purposes. According to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this policy will apply until December 31, 2026.
Recently, there has been a growing reluctance among North Korean defectors to travel to China.
Mr. Jeong, who had previously canceled his plans to travel to China, said he was concerned about the possibility of Chinese authorities sharing North Korean defectors' entry or identity information with North Korea and the possibility of being kidnapped in China.
Seo Jae-pyeong, chairman of the North Korean Defectors' Association, also said, "There are many people who say they do not want to travel to China because it is dangerous. They think there is a need to go to a place that is considered dangerous."
The background to these concerns is the controversy surrounding North Korean defectors who returned to North Korea via China in the past.
Lim Ji-hyeon, who was active in domestic broadcasting, suddenly left for China in 2017 and appeared in North Korean media. At the time, controversy arose over whether Mr. Lim returned to North Korea on his own or was kidnapped in China, and the police also investigated how he re-entered North Korea.
Recently, Han Song-i, a broadcaster and former North Korean defector, said, "Mr. Lim received a call from her Korean-Chinese husband that her parents were in China, went to China, and was kidnapped by the North Korean Security Department and taken to North Korea," drawing attention again to the incident at that time. However, no specific evidence or data to support this has been confirmed to date.
In response to the BBC's question about how many North Korean defectors of Korean nationality have been recently denied entry or arrested or detained in China, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded, "We manage statistics on incidents and accidents involving Korean nationals living abroad by country and region, but we do not manage statistics by specific status (such as North Korean defectors) separately."
In addition, he said that he is constantly cooperating with related organizations such as the National Police Agency for the safety of overseas Koreans, but that it is difficult to disclose the specific details of discussions or reasons related to this week's guidance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that according to the Korea-China consular agreement, if a Korean national is arrested or detained in China, the person is required to notify the Korean consulate within 4 days, regardless of whether the person concerned requests it or not.
In particular, when asked whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ever confirmed a case in which a North Korean defector who acquired South Korean nationality was repatriated from China to North Korea or extradited to North Korean authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "As far as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware, there has been no case in which a North Korean defector who acquired South Korean nationality was repatriated from China to North Korea or extradited to North Korean authorities."
The BBC also asked the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in writing whether separate entry screening standards are applied to North Korean defectors with South Korean nationality, distinguishing them from other South Korean passport holders, how many recent cases of entry have been denied, investigated, and detained, and if so, what the reasons were, but received no response.
