On August 11, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that North Korea plans to lift its border closures imposed in early 2020 and accept North Korean nationals stranded overseas. The article said that, while the measure would allow North Korean workers, students, and diplomats who have had no choice but to overstay on foreign soil to return home, it also raises the possibility of Chinese authorities resuming repatriation of North Korean escapees detained in their territory.

The news quoted the testimony from Hanna Song, NKDB's Director of International Cooperation, before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).

While the border reopening would allow North Koreans who were stranded abroad during the pandemic to return home, it also raises the specter of repatriation for defectors from China.

[...]

But activists and human rights groups warned the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China in June that almost 2,000 North Koreans held in detention centers in China could be forcibly repatriated once the North opens its borders.

Hanna Song, director of the Seoul-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB), showed the commission satellite images of construction at Chinese detention facilities near the border that could potentially expand their capacity to hold more North Korean defectors caught in China.

She said the current number of North Koreans held in detention centers in China is likely between 600 and 2,000.

You can read the full article on Korea JoongAng Daily website by clicking HERE.