Four North Koreans were found in a small wooden boat in South Korean waters on Tuesday in what is likely a rare case of North Koreans taking a risky sea voyage to flee to the South, Seoul officials said.
More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to avoid poverty and political oppression since the late 1990s. A vast majority of them have come via China and then Southeast Asian countries, and defecting by sea is uncommon because it’s more dangerous.
South Korean public broadcaster KBS, citing an unidentified government official, reported that the four North Koreans - a man and three women - are members of one family. KBS said they weren’t armed and didn’t wear military uniforms when they were found. But some still opt to use a sea route because they can defect in a group and it takes much shorter time than the China-Southeast Asian route, which typically takes weeks or months before coming to South Korea, according to Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea.
North Korean defectors are required to undergo questioning by South Korean authorities to determine whether their desire to resettle is genuine.
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