N. Koreans get information from South 'through phone calls'

/Courtesy of Twitter

By Lee Jin-a

North Koreans living close to China learned about the recent mass defection of North Korean restaurant employees in China through phone calls with their “friends” in South Korea, even before the North’s state media reported the incident, according to the Radio Free Asia (RFA).

The report reaffirmed widening loopholes in the reclusive nation’s crackdown on illegal telecommunications with outside the world.

“My friend in South Korea told me about the mass defection through a phone call. I think they made a smart decision,” the RFA quoted a North Korean as saying.

”If I’m given an opportunity, I will do the same. 10 out of 10 North Koreans wish to live in South Korea.”

The RFA reported that the North Korean authorities had intensified surveillance of its people, but many people seemed to be unafraid.

Meanwhile, the North has beefed up its border control and ideological education to since the mass defection, according to Japanese journalist Ishimaru Jiro, citing information from his North Korea sources.

“The international community should raise its voice to protect the human rights of North Koreans because the state imposes severe punishment on relatives of North Korean defectors under the guilt-by-association system,” he said.