North Koreans trapped by coronavirus border patrols

NETWORKS used by North Korean defectors to escape the country are under threat as a result of the pandemic, combined with a crackdown on refugees by a Seoul government looking to improve its relationship with Pyongyang, activists have warned.

This year, the number of North Korean defectors escaping to the South plummeted to an all-time low of 147 by June, mainly because the North sealed its borders to keep the virus from ravaging its ailing health system.

NGOS in South Korea also claimed that increased government controls had crushed rescue networks to the point where they might never recover.

For decades, groups in the South have built up a so-called “underground railroad” to offer safe passage for escapees fleeing the North.

However, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said last month it would “inspect” 25 defector-run NGOS, citing failures to file documents, and check if 64 others were following conditions to stay registered. Yesterday, the ministry expanded its investigation to 289 groups.

It comes as Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, strives to kick-start stalled relations with the North Korean regime, which in June blew up an inter-korean liaison office, blaming antipyongyang propaganda being sent across the border by defector groups.

Two groups have had their licences revoked, depriving them of tax exemptions and the ability to fund-raise, prompting some 30 NGOS to join forces to lodge a protest against what they named a “discriminatory crackdown”.

Human Rights Watch in July called on the Moon administration to halt its “targeted campaign of regulatory intimidation against civil society groups”.