North Korea: Those who manage to escape risk facing secret torture facility in China

Stories of people fleeing to North Korea are rather rare. Instead, residents repeatedly try to leave the country,which has extremely strict rules. Indoing so, they take a high risk. Indeed, the North Korean leader is known to be a vicious ruler with zero tolerance for betrayal.

Kim Jong-un reportedly killed a general by placing him into a fish tank of piranhas while the leader's sister has been dubbed the world's 'most dangerous woman'. Indeed, the people of North Korea are far from free to move as they please.

Anyone who flees is to be deported

As Amnesty Internationalreports, 'North Koreans are restricted in their freedom of movement, and the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of information and freedom of association are almost completely suppressed.' These are just some of the reasons why some North Koreans want to leave their home country. According to Statista, 67 people managed to flee to South Korea last year.

Once they have managed this, however, some refugees are threatened with deportation to their home country. This was the case for Cheol-ok, who had a horrific experience after successfully leaving North Korea.

Defectors are threatened with torture in Chinese detention centre

Cheol-ok fled to China at the age of 14. There, a human trafficker forced her to marry a man she did not know. She lived undisturbed in the Chinese province of Jilin until the beginning of the year. In April, however, her life changed forever. As Metro reports, she is said to have been arrested and then taken to the Baishan City Detention Center. Metro writes about the facility:

There, the defectors are threatened with torture. Women are subjected to sexual and gender-specific violence and forced abortions.

She now appears to be back in her home country due to deportation, and hard times await her there too. Her sister Kyu-li, who has been living in exile for years, says:

After repatriation, Cheol-ok faces severe punishment, forced labor, lack of food and lack of access to medicine if she is ill. Moreover, the North Korean authorities don't care whether prisoners like my older brother live or die in prison.

He defected in 2002 and was subject to serious punishment and starvation. The location of where he is buried remains unknown.

Not much seems to be known about her exact whereabouts. However, Kyu-li is fighting to find her again. This comes as reports published in NBC News, state that '600 North Koreans have 'vanished' after having been repatriated from China'.

This article has been translated from Gentside DE.

Sources used:

Statista: North Korea: Refugees and defectors¹ to South Korea broken down by gender in the years 2012 to 2022

Amnesty International: WHAT IS THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN NORTH KOREA?

Metro: 'Houses of torment' that hide North Korea's darkest secret

NBC News: 600 North Koreans deported from China have ‘vanished,’ rights group says