I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
NK defectors undergo 6-month debriefing
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff reporter
Due to recent changes in regulations those who have escaped North Korea for the South will be required to undergo a minimum six-month debriefing before being allowed to live here as new settlers.
The Ministry of Unification is pressing ahead with stricter rules after two spies were found to have attempted to enter Seoul on a mission to assassinate a high-ranking defector under the guise of ordinary defectors.
Earlier this year, the National Intelligence Service caught the two North Korean agents _ Tong Myung-gwan and Kim Mung-ho _ who were sent to the South on a mission to kill Hwang Jang-yop.
Hwang, who defected from the North in 1997, is an outspoken critic of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The spy agency found that the two North Koreans were not normal defectors during questioning as their answers to several questions were inconsistent with what other defectors had said.
Currently, there is no rule concerning the length of the questioning period aimed to distinguish genuine defectors from potential spies.
The stricter rules come amid a recent flood of North Koreans who escaped their home country to live in South Korea.
Approximately 20,000 people who left the North after the 1990s currently live in the South.