Four North Koreans Make Daring Defection by Sea
by Richardson ~ January 1st, 2009. Filed under: Defectors & Refugees.An unusual defection directly to South Korea:
Four North Koreans defected to South Korea by sea this week and the authorities in the South are questioning them, Seoul’s intelligence agency said Wednesday… Yonhap, South Korea’s national news agency, reported that the defectors were a husband and wife, and their son and daughter-in-law. Yonhap, which cited no sources, said the four North Koreans were in a small wooden boat when a patrol boat from the South Korean Navy picked them up Tuesday night.
Defecting is dangerous for North Koreans at anytime. However, defecting by sea using small craft in the middle of winter and traveling directly to South Korea is indeed a desperate move; temperatures are usually well below freezing, humidly fifty percent or more, with a good chance of winds and waves.
About 18 months ago another family of defectors ended up in Japan when currents carried their wooden small craft there. There hasn’t been much, if any, news of them since.
