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Wed, August 17, 2022 | 20:05
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NK defector policy needs fix
탈북자 재입북…제도적 한계 노출
Posted : 2013-05-19 17:25
Updated : 2013-05-19 17:25
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The North's Korean Central News Agency broadcasts a discussion with defectors who returned to the North, Friday. They mostly said they were tempted to go to South Korea, but the reality was too harsh. Yonhap
The North's Korean Central News Agency broadcasts a discussion with defectors who returned to the North, Friday. They mostly said they were tempted to go to South Korea, but the reality was too harsh. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye


The government is facing growing calls to overhaul its treatment of North Korean defectors as the number returning to the communist country are reportedly increasing.

The North had treated defectors like betrayers; but it recently changed its approach, using them as propaganda tools.

On Friday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) aired a discussion with three defectors ㅡ Lee Hyuck-cheol (26), Kim Kyung-ock (41) and Kang Kyung-sook (60) ㅡ who had returned to the North.

"My elder brother who went to the South first told me that he was operating a big company and had several cars. He asked me to follow him, but in reality, he was barely eking out a living in the dormitory of a church. He even asked me to give him a half of my resettlement funds," said Lee.

Lee went back to the Stalinist state in a fishing boat he stole from Yeonpyeong Island last month.

Kim described the South as "a rotten society" where money rules everything. "When I heard that the North was looking after my family, I was so touched. So, I decided to return," she said.

This was the second time that the Pyongyang's news agency has reported such a story after broadcasting a press conference with four people who returned to the North in January. Those people mostly said they were tempted to go to the South, but the reality was different.

Under the current system, when defectors come to the South, the government first provides them with a three-week educational program in Hanawon, a settlement support center for North Korean refugees.

Then, they are further educated at local centers. The official period of government support for education and police protection is five years.

However, the increasing number of cases of North Korean defectors returning to the North reflects loopholes in the current program.

Listen to their complaint

"I heard of several cases. Some went back to the North after being discovered to be spies. Some returned as their families in the North were threatened. There are also those who decided to go back after becoming delinquent borrowers," said a 21-year-old defector who is a university student in Seoul.


He added Pyongyang's attempt to use them as propaganda is unlikely to have the intended effect though, because defectors in the South are aware that the televised criticism of the South is often done under coercion.

Analysts say the government needs to supplement the way it manages North Korean defectors in a way to reflect their diversity, rather than uniformly managing them, in order to help them better adjust to Korean society.

"What the government needs to do first is to find out why seven defectors went back to the North. Those people would have various reasons, such as longing for family and failure of the South to live up to their expectations," said Park Young-ho, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

After identifying the cause of their return, Park said, the government needs to draw up a management system which reflects diverse characteristics and various backgrounds of defectors, rather than handling all of them the same way.

"Of course this won't be that easy, but the government at least needs to attempt to categorize them into small groups in accordance with their peculiarities. Plus, private organizations also need to actively participate in the task to help defectors achieve harmony in the South. Religious groups have mostly done such things, but more substantial assistance will be necessary."


탈북자 재입북…제도적 한계 노출

국내에 정착했던 북한이탈주민(탈북자)의 재입북 사건이 정부의 탈북자 관리 강화 방침에도 이어지고 있다.

    그동안 탈북자를 배신자로 취급하던 북한이 부쩍 재입북자를 체제선전용으로 활용하는 사례가 늘면서 유사 사례는 더욱 늘어날 가능성이 있다.

    ◇ 北 체제선전 도구로 부쩍 활용…작년부터 빈발

    북한 조선중앙TV와 조선중앙통신은 북한을 탈출해 남한으로 왔다가 재입북한 리혁철(26), 김경옥(41), 강경숙(60)의 좌담회가 17일 고려동포회관에서 열렸다고 보도했다.

    북한 언론보도를 통해 소개된 재입북한 탈북자는 올해만 7명에 달한다. 국내에 정착했다가 재입북한 경우는 이들을 제외하면 그동안 4건에 불과했다. 최근 들어 부쩍 늘어난 셈이다.

    이들은 기자회견에서 대부분 회유와 공작으로 남측으로 끌려갔지만 실제로 가보니 동포를 멸시하고 돈이 모든 것을 좌우하는 썩은 사회였다고 남한 사회 비판에 열을 올리고 있다.

    탈북자들의 재입북 과정에서 북한에 머무는 가족들 및 브로커가 동원되는 등 북한에 의한 '모종의 작업'이 있었을 것으로 정부 당국은 추정하고 있다.

    과거 탈북자를 배신자로 낙인찍던 북한이 최근에는 남한 체제를 비난하고 북한 체제를 선전하는 도구로 탈북자를 활용하는 쪽으로 태도가 변했다는 분석이 우리 정부 내에서 나오고 있다.

    ◇ 정부 관리강화 조치에도 제도적 한계

    정부는 지난 1월 말부터 탈북자의 신변보호를 강화하고 상담전화를 설치, 탈북자의 고충과 피해를 접수키로 하는 등 관리조치를 강화했다. 탈북자들의 공직채용 시 검증과 관리도 강화하고 있다.

    정부는 현재 탈북자가 입국하면 하나원에서의 3개월간 초기 정착교육에 이어 지역 하나센터에서 3주간의 지역 적응교육과 1년간의 사후지원을 하고 있다.

    탈북자가 입국한 이후 경찰 신변보호, 지자체 하나센터 등의 지원을 포함해 정부는 약 5년간 공식적으로 이들을 보호하고 있다.

    이처럼 이들이 국내에 있을 때는 나름의 지원보호책이 있지만 이들이 해외에 나갈 경우는 관리의 공백이 생기는 게 현실이다.

    정부 관계자는 19일 '2만4천명에 달하는 탈북자들에게 혹시 재입북할 가능성이 있다는 이유로 여권 발급을 제한할 수도 없는 노릇'이라면서 '중국에서 이들이 어디로 가는지 일일이 쫓아다니기도 어렵지 않느냐'라고 말했다.

    극소수에 불과한 재입북자들을 차단하기 위해 이들의 외국방문을 '원천봉쇄'한다면 또 다른 인권침해의 소지도 있다.

    정부 관계자는 '현실적인 어려움도 있는 것이 사실이지만 앞으로도 관리시스템을 추가적으로 점검해 보겠다'고 말했다.

    전문가들은 더욱 근본적으로는 탈북자들이 남한 사회에서 제대로 정착할 수 있도록 사회적 분위기를 변화시키는 것이 중요하다고 지적했다.
Emailjjh@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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