'Elite Defections' From North Korea Highest in Years

Despite strict measures from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to stem defections to South Korea, the number of the nation's "elites" fleeing the nation is the highest it has been in years, according to officials.

The dictator has ordered new border walls to be built, more land mines to be installed, and has rearmed guard posts, but according to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, more so-called "elites," such as diplomats and students who have the means to leave are escaping, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The news that more people in the protected class are leaving points to the belief that Kim is facing discontent from within, but still, the number of civilians who are escaping has dropped steadily since the pandemic.

Before then, more than 1,000 North Koreans a year relocated to South Korea, but during the first half of this year, just 105 have been able to escape, and fewer than 200 got away in 2023.

Tuesday morning, a North Korean soldier escaped after navigating the Demilitarized Zone, marking the first defection for an active-duty soldier since 2019.

In recent years, the regime has issued shoot-on-sight orders to keep civilians from trying to escape a worsening situation in North Korea, which is experiencing food shortages, assaults on human rights, and a troubled economy.

Such measures are forcing those who do try to escape to take extreme measures. The soldier who defected crossed into South Korea in the eastern part of the DMZ, getting past land mines, barbed wire, and patrol guards to make his mistake.

The defection is seen as a harm to Kim's image of North Korea as a socialist haven, and conflicts with the military's loyalty to his regime.

The country is isolated from the outside world except for its allies in China and Russia, and the military faces harsh conditions, including deaths from heat-related illness and land mine explosions as it works to add new mines and barriers around the DMZ, reports Seoul's military.

Kang Dong-wan, a former director of a support center for North Korean defectors, said that North Koreans are resorting to trying to dash across the country's border or fleeing by sea.

"The border barriers are proof that the Kim regime is aware of internal discontent and wants to block defections," he said.

In the past, North Koreans fled through China and were able to get across the border through help from brokers.

China, though, installed new fences and watchtowers during the pandemic. Last year, the country sent thousands of North Koreans back to their homeland, according to human rights organizations.

Kim labeled South Korea as his country's top enemy earlier this year. South Korean unification minister Kim Yung-ho said that the move was made to refocus the North Koreans' distrust in its government elsewhere.

Last week, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol announced new plans for unification, including pushing to get more outside information into North Korea.

His plan is aligned with U.S. policies pushing to spread democratic values into places like North Korea, according to Hwang Ji-hwan, a professor of international relations at the University of Seoul.

However, the plan could backfire, as North Korea is more likely to turn to Russia or China, Hwang stressed.