What is a group leaving the North?

North Korean defectors, also known as defectors, North Korean refugees, North Korean refugees, etc. , known as the "North Korean defector". Refers to the names of North Korean citizens who do not adapt to the political system and living environment of North Korea and leave North Korea for other countries through abnormal channels. At first, it specifically refers to those who fled from North Korea to South Korea, and later it generally refers to all those who fled from North Korea.

In the early days, defectors were desperate for political reasons. In the early 1990s, North Korea entered the era of "marching in misery", with economic depression and food shortage. A large number of "defectors" entered People's Republic of China (PRC) or defected to South Korea via China. In 2002, a "defector" with a two-year-old child broke into the Japanese consulate in Shenyang to seek asylum, and was photographed on the spot by foreign journalists, which attracted global attention.

Among all the countries involved, North Korean officials regard defectors as "traitors"; South Korean officials believe that the defectors are refugees and demand that the countries concerned must rescue them. China does not regard defectors as refugees at all, but calls them "illegal economic migrants". Influenced by the Korean media, the word "defector" has been widely known.

According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, there are about 300,000 "defectors" from China, Russian, Mongolian and Southeast Asia.