Four armed North Korean soldiers killed a Chinese family of four and robbed their house last Thursday after having deserted from their unit to cross the border with China, a lawmaker claimed on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor conservative Liberty Forward Party also said that another armed soldier entered China across the Tumen River on Monday.

Experts said that such desertions underline worsening food shortages and waning troop morale in the impoverished state.

“Soldiers stationed near the border have been put on alert since the deserters killed four Chinese with their guns, and stole rice and everything from their house,” Park said. “The (North’s) State Security Department has dispatched some 300 operatives to China to capture runaway soldiers.”

She added that the 24 defectors allegedly now facing repatriation had been captured last week by the SSD agents. She declined to identify her sources, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Experts here say that the number of military deserters has gradually increased in recent years as the food situation in the North has deteriorated amid deepening international isolation due to its controversial nuclear programs.

“There are a number of reasons for the desertions, including the long service period of 10 years that make them feel sick and tired, poor working conditions and continuing food shortages,” said Lee Kyo-duk, senior researcher at Korea Institute for National Unification.

“In particular, food situations in military units near the border and the North’s part of Gangwon Province are bad. Some soldiers take a leave of absence to get food from their homes and then do not return to their units.”

Chung Kyu-sup, North Korea expert at Kwandong University, said that discipline in units far from the capital of Pyongyang appears to have been loosened as the North focuses its attention on solidifying the new leadership structure.

“The North is now engrossed in solidifying the new leadership structure and focuses its attention on (securing a firm grip on) residents mainly in Pyongyang and the central area. So the situations on the periphery seem to be worse, including military areas near the border with China,” he said.

More than 23,000 North Koreans have defected here since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The number of defectors steadily increased annually from 2005 until 2009 ― 1,383 in 2005, 2,018 in 2006, 2,544 in 2007, 2,809 in 2008 and 2,927 in 2009, according to the Unification Ministry.

It then dropped to 2,379 in 2010 when Pyongyang tightened its border control while preparing for its hereditary power succession. Last year, the figure rose to 2,737.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)