On June 14, 2023, The Korea Times published an article highlighting China's role in significantly reducing the number of North Koreans fleeing their country since the pandemic. The use of advanced technology, including facial recognition and biometric systems, has become a repressive tool that targets vulnerable individuals, including North Korean refugees, according to Hanna Song, director of international cooperation at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. Concerns were raised during a hearing about the imminent repatriation of nearly 2,000 North Korean detainees held in China, as Pyongyang is expected to reopen its border soon. Participants emphasized the need for increased pressure on China to halt the practice of sending escapees back to North Korea, where they face torture and other human rights abuses. Please find the detailed information below.
Hanna Song, the director of international cooperation at the Seoul-based nonprofit, nongovernmental organization Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, said Beijing has used advanced technology tools to repress its people and North Korean escapees in China.
"China's increasing use of advanced technology, such as facial recognition and biometric systems, has become a repressive weapon targeting the most vulnerable," she said during a hearing titled North Korean Refugees and the Imminent Danger of Forced Repatriation from China, hosted by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Tuesday (local time), in Washington, D.C.
"This includes North Korean refugees as well," Song added.
The hearing was held after a March report by The Korea Times raised concerns about China's possible mass repatriations of North Korean detainees back to the North, and a follow-up interview in April with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim where he confirmed the U.S.' continuous diplomatic efforts to pressure China to scrap its forced repatriations.
Song said the technology enables the monitoring of people being trafficked in China, leaving no room for anonymity and invisibility and make it extremely difficult for North Korean defectors to avoid repatriation.
You can read the full article in The Korea Times by clicking HERE
On June 14, 2023, The Korea Times published an article highlighting China's role in significantly reducing the number of North Koreans fleeing their country since the pandemic. The use of advanced technology, including facial recognition and biometric systems, has become a repressive tool that targets vulnerable individuals, including North Korean refugees, according to Hanna Song, director of international cooperation at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. Concerns were raised during a hearing about the imminent repatriation of nearly 2,000 North Korean detainees held in China, as Pyongyang is expected to reopen its border soon. Participants emphasized the need for increased pressure on China to halt the practice of sending escapees back to North Korea, where they face torture and other human rights abuses. Please find the detailed information below.
You can read the full article in The Korea Times by clicking HERE