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  • N. Korean defectors in China vulnerable to human trafficking
    N. Korean defectors in China vulnerable to human trafficking
    Female North Korean defectors in China are susceptible to human trafficking carried out by Chinese and ethnic Koreans, a recent survey showed Thursday.More than half of about 120 North Korean women surveyed by South Korean activists in China said they experienced trafficking in China, according to F
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National North Korea

N. Korean defectors in China vulnerable to human trafficking

Nov. 24, 2011 - 17:40 By

Female North Korean defectors in China are susceptible to human trafficking carried out by Chinese and ethnic Koreans, a recent survey showed Thursday.

More than half of about 120 North Korean women surveyed by South Korean activists in China said they experienced trafficking in China, according to Free the NK Gulag, a Seoul-based rights group.

The rights group, which conducted the survey between May and August, said in a report that 45 out of 64 victims were traded in scams that involved ethnic Koreans in China who can speak Korean.

Oh Sun-young, 53, said in a news conference that she was beaten by ethnic Koreans in China after she refused to marry an old Chinese man. Oh left behind her husband in North Korea as she fled to China to make money, but she later ended up in South Korea with her daughter.

She is one of tens of thousands of North Koreans who crossed the porous border into China to avoid hunger and oppression. Many of them are believed to be seeking a chance to travel to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea.

"I lost seven teeth after being hit by ethnic Koreans," she said in an emotional testimony of her ordeal in China during a conference organized by the rights group.

The development indicated a widespread practice of human trafficking of North Korean women in China.

Kim Tae-jin, executive director of the rights group, estimated that tens of thousands of North Korean women appeared to have fallen victims to human trafficking in China.

In June, the U.S. State Department said in an annual report that North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children who are subject to forced labor, forced marriage and sex trafficking.

"North Korean women who make their own way to China are lured, drugged, or kidnapped by traffickers upon arrival," the report said.

It also said trafficking networks of Korean-Chinese and North Koreans, mostly men, operate along the China-North Korean border, reportedly working with Chinese and North Korean border guards to recruit women for marriage or prostitution in China. (Yonhap News)

 

<한글기사>

"중국내 탈북여성 절반가량 인신매매 경험"



북한민주화운동본부는 중국에 있는 탈북자 절반 가량이 인신매매를 경험하는 것으로 조사됐다고 24일 밝혔다.

이 단체는 통일부 후원으로 지난 5월부터 8월까지 중국에 있는 탈북자 126명(여 성 119, 남성 5, 미입력 2명)을 대상으로 설문조사를 한 결과, 인신매매를 경험한 응답자가 전체의 절반을 약간 넘는 64명(51%)으로 집계됐다고 밝혔다.

특히 조선족이 개입한 인신매매를 경험했다고 답한 응답자가 45명으로 대다수를 차지했다.

이날 이 단체가 한국프레스센터에서 연 기자회견에는 탈북 이후 중국에  거주하 다 국내에 입국한 여성 3명이 나와 그간의 경험을 털어놨다.

기자회견에 나온 탈북자 오선영(가명)씨는 "중국을 오가며 장사를 하다  체포영 장이 나와 탈북했다"며 "주변에서 나와 16살 난 딸을 어딘가에 팔려고 갖은 수를 다 썼고 도망치는 과정에서 폭행당해 이가 부러지기도 했다"고 밝혔다.

오씨는 1998년부터 10년간 중국에서 거주하다 2008년 국내에 입국했는데 그가 공개한 사진 속의 딸은 27세임에도 남녀를 구분할 수 없는 40대 정도로 보였다.

2003년부터 2008년까지 헤이룽장성에 거주했던 이민선(가명)씨는 "아들과 함께 탈북했는데 아이를 데리고 일을 할 수가 없다 보니 중국사람에게 시집을 가게 됐다"

며 "돈을 벌어와도 남편이 그 돈을 뺏으며 때리기를 반복해 결국 아이들을 한인  목 사가 운영하는 교회 고아원에 맡겨야 했다"고 증언했다.

이씨는 "탈북할 때만 해도 조선족들이 나를 도와주는 사람들인 줄 알았는데  중 국의 남편과 나를 판 사람들을 생각하면 너무 끔찍하다"며 눈물을 흘렸다.

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