No. Korean defections

[waltky]

No. Korean officials not happy with Fatboy Kim...

North Korea embassy officials defect in China: reports
Thu, Oct 06, 2016 - A ranking North Korean embassy official in Beijing has defected, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said yesterday, while a separate report suggested two embassy staff had sought asylum with the Japanese mission in the Chinese capital.

If confirmed, it would mark the latest in a recent series of high-profile North Korean defections that some observers see as a sign of growing instability within the leadership in Pyongyang. Yonhap, quoting an anonymous source “familiar with Pyongyang affairs,” said the official — stationed in the Beijing embassy, but attached to the North Korean Ministry of Public Health — had disappeared with his family late last month. The source said the official was responsible for sourcing medical supplies for a clinic in Pyongyang that caters to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his family.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification, which has a general policy of not commenting on defections, especially by senior officials, said it was unable to confirm the report. In a separate report, the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo said two senior staffers at the North Korean embassy in Beijing had asked for asylum in Japan. The newspaper cited an anonymous source as saying the two officials were not diplomats, but attached to a North Korean government office. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied that any approach had been made to the Japanese mission. “There’s no truth in the reports that North Korean asylum seekers contacted the Japanese embassy, and we’re not aware of any situation involving North Koreans hoping to defect to Japan,” Suga told a regular news conference.

The North has been rocked by a number of high-level defections, most recently that of its deputy ambassador to Britain, who fled to the South in a major propaganda victory for Seoul. In a speech on Saturday to mark Armed Forces Day, South Korean President Park Geun-hye made a direct appeal to more North Koreans to abandon their country. “There have been persistent defections, even by North Korean elites who have been supporting the regime,” Park said. “We will keep the road open for you to find hope and live a new life,” she added.

North Korea embassy officials defect in China: reports - Taipei Times

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Report: North Korean officials consulting illegal fortunetellers in planning to defect
Oct. 5, 2016 -- Faced with tough choices, more senior North Korean officials may be visiting fortunetellers to identify what they think is important information: an auspicious date to permanently leave the country.

A source in North Korea's Yanggang Province told South Korean news service Daily NK that senior officials in the region seek solace in advice from soothsayers, although acts involving superstition are illegal in the country. "The number of officials engaging in superstitious practice, in order to inquire about defections, is quietly on the rise," the source said. "Due to pressures of being possibly purged if they are unable to carry out the commands of the central authority, they are turning to fortunetellers for answers." A soothsayer with a good reputation is often inundated with officials who seek advice, the source said.

Officials ask about their prospects for promotion, but they are also concerned about their chances of a successful defection, the source said, adding seeking such advice has become a "regular event." But requesting a professional fortuneteller's advice on defecting comes with a hefty pricetag. While answers on issues such as personal health or marriage prospects cost about 10,000 North Korean won, advice on defecting runs much higher, and requires a payment of about 600,000 won, according to the source.

There is no official exchange rate between the North Korean won and the U.S. dollar, but unofficial estimates state 7,900-8,000 won is equivalent to $1. In a country where about 2 pounds of rice costs 5,000 won, a fee of 600,000 won is the equivalent of about 240 pounds of rice, according to the report. Soliciting fortunetellers and other forms of superstitious practices are illegal in North Korea, according to penal code 256. North Korea law punishes such acts with a maximum one-year prison sentence at a labor camp, or a maximum of three years at a reeducation camp.

Report: North Korean officials consulting illegal fortunetellers in planning to defect

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

It's interesting that Kim's generals haven't shot him in the head, for their own good.

 

[esthermoon]

What if China bring them back to North Korea?
Anyways South Koreans are not trustworthy when they talk about North Koreans defections!
They're enemies

 

[eflatminor]

Can't image why anyone would leave such a collectivist paradise...

 

[waltky]

North Korean soldier shot trying to escape across DMZ...

North Korean soldier shot in escape attempt across DMZ
Nov. 13, 2017 -- A North Korean soldier was shot by Pyongyang forces on Monday while trying to escape through the de-militarized zone between North and South Korea, officials said.

The soldier left his post in the Joint Security Area and ran through the heavily fortified, 2.5-mile neutral zone, a statement from the South Korean military said. The escaping soldier was found, bleeding, near Freedom House, the reception building on the southern side. The soldier was hit in the shoulder and arm and was flown to a hospital in a United Nations helicopter after he was found. The United Nations operates the southern side of the DMZ.

A North Korean soldier was shot Monday as he ran across the de-militarized zone, pictured, toward South Korea, the first such incident since 2007.​

The two sides did not exchange gunfire, although the alert level along the DMZ was raised and South Korean troops entered into full readiness mode, Stars and Stripes reported. Though about 30,000 North Koreans escape to the south each year, it is rare for Pyongyang troops to leave their posts in the Joint Security Area. The last incident occurred in 2007, the South Korea Unification Ministry, which oversees defectors, said.

In 1984, a gun battle erupted as a tourist from the Soviet Union attempted to sun across the demarcation line between the two countries. The shooting occurred on the same day that South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in the Philippines for the ASEAN summit of Pacific Rim countries.

North Korean soldier shot in escape attempt across DMZ

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Defecting North Korean soldier in critical condition, U.N. investigating
November 13, 2017 - A North Korean soldier shot while defecting to the South has undergone several surgical procedures and is in a critical condition, South Korea’s government and military said on Tuesday, with doctors expecting to save him.

“Until this morning, we heard he had no consciousness and was unable to breathe on his own but his life can be saved,” said Suh Wook, chief director of operations at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was briefing lawmakers regarding Monday’s event. Five bullets had been extracted from the soldier’s body so far, leaving an estimated two inside, Suh added. Lee Cook-jong, the surgeon in charge of the soldier’s treatment, told reporters earlier on Tuesday his condition was critical due to intestinal damage caused by the bullets.

The soldier had sped towards the border in a vehicle when a wheel came loose, forcing him to escape on foot under fire from four North Korean soldiers who shot around 40 rounds at him, Suh said. North Korea’s military took action when the defector was spotted in the four wheel drive heading towards the border alone, Roh Jae-cheon, a spokesman for the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a media briefing on Tuesday. The soldier took cover behind a South Korean structure within the Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas and was later rescued by South Korean and U.S. soldiers at the border, the United Nations Command (UNC) said in a separate statement. It said the soldier had been shot by several North Korean soldiers.

He was found unarmed and taken to surgery while still in his uniform, which indicated he held a lower rank, Suh said. South Korean officials have yet to identify exactly where the soldier came from and what his intentions were. The military armistice commission of the United Nations said in the same UNC statement it had informed the North Korean military that the soldier, who was found about 50 meters (150 feet) south of the Military Demarcation Line, was undergoing surgery for his gunshot wounds.

Suh also said the South had later informed the North on Monday of the soldier and his ongoing treatment via loudspeakers installed at the border. The United Nations Command said an investigation into Monday’s event was ongoing. It was the first time since 2007 a North Korean soldier had defected across the JSA. South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo, who was also at parliament said it was the first time North Korean soldiers had fired towards the South’s side of the JSA, prompting complaints from some lawmakers the South’s military should have also fired shots towards the North.

Moon Sang-gyun, the South’s defense ministry spokesman said military operations at the JSA are usually carried out under the order of the United Nations Command, which is in turn under order from the U.S. military. Roh said no South Korean or U.S. soldiers were wounded during the incident and the defense ministry official said North Korea’s military had not shown any unusual movements on Tuesday.

Defecting North Korean soldier in critical condition, U.N. investigating

 

[Likkmee]

It's interesting that Kim's generals haven't shot him in the head, for their own good.

Neither have the unemployable morons in the US communist BS military system. What's your point here ?

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

It's interesting that Kim's generals haven't shot him in the head, for their own good.

Neither have the unemployable morons in the US communist BS military system. What's your point here ?

Please make sense so that I can respond.