North Korean Defectors Accuse the Regime of Torture

Human Rights Research Center

15 minutes ago

3 min read

September 11, 2026

The writer prefers to use lower case "n" to. challenge the authority of north Korea.

HRRC calls on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to stop the mistreatment of its people and to shut down the detention facilities. HRRC also urges China to grant refugee status to north Koreans under the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

North Korean students [Image Credit: Roman Harak via Flickr]

On August 28, the Seoul District Court ruled in favour of a lawsuit filed by Choi Min-kyung, head of the North Korea Imprisonment Victims' Family Association, who accused the north regime of torture and sought USD 36,300 in compensation from the north regime. The court's hearing proceeded without representations from the defence.

Choi defected from north Korea in 1997, but was forcefully repatriated in 2008 while staying in China. She was then sent to a detention camp, where she suffered from torture and sexual violence. Choi, now living in the South, filed the lawsuit in South Korea District Court since its Constitution maintains its territorial claim over the entire Korean Peninsula. Under its nationality law, people born in the north are considered South Korean citizens.

According to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, women comprised 72 percent of the north Korean defector population in 2024. The gender imbalance occurs since all able-bodied north Korean men are required to serve ten years in the military, restricting their freedom of mobility to seek refuge. Most of the north Korean defectors cross either the Yalu River or the Tumen River, two rivers separating China and North Korea, and reach China as their first base. Then they must navigate travelling from China to Southeast Asian countries via the Mekong River. Their escape journeys are only considered complete when they reach the South Korean embassy in Thailand, Laos, or Myanmar.

China regards north Korean defectors as “illegal economic migrants” and under the 1986 bilateral border protocol, north Koreans are repatriated if arrested. The north regime views the act of leaving the country without permission as a serious crime. Human Rights Watch has commented that repatriation puts the defectors at great risk of forced disappearance, torture, sexual violence, forced labour, or even execution.

Apart from the risk of repatriations due to their undocumented status, women face a significant threat of gender-based violence, trafficking, and forced prostitution while transiting in China. North Korean women are targets of forced marriage and human trafficking due to China’s high demand for young women as brides after the long-term impacts of China’s “One-Child Policy” has left China with fewer young women. The “One-Child Policy” drastically shaped the gender dynamics in China, especially in rural areas where boys are favoured for the sake of carrying the family’s name and inheritance.

Human traffickers coerce the women into prostitution and the sex industry. A Korean NGO, Korea Future Initiative, published a report in 2019 titled “Sex Slaves: The Prostitution, Cybersex & Forced Marriage of North Korean Women & Girls in China”, which explores the vulnerabilities of north Korean women in China. It revealed that 50 percent of north Korean women and girls between the ages of 15 and 25 who defected to China were sold into the prostitution industry and 30 percent were sold into forced marriage. The prostitution industry in China is a lucrative business that contributes 6 percent to China’s GDP. Criminal organisations restrict prostitutes’ freedom by limiting their contact with the outside world and bribe officials to prevent the women from escaping.

North Korea must end torture and imprisonment of its people and allow the freedom of mobility for people seeking basic human rights. China must recognize the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, to which China is a signatory.

Glossary

Bilateral: Involving two groups or countries

Coerce: to persuade someone forcefully to do something that they are unwilling to do

Defector: Someone who leaves a country, political party, etc., especially in order to join an opposing one

Imprisonment: The act of putting someone in prison or the condition of being kept in prison

Lucrative: producing a lot of money

Protocol: the system of rules and acceptable behaviour used at official ceremonies and occasions

Refuge: A place that gives protection or shelter from danger, trouble, unhappiness

Repatriation: The act of sending or bringing someone, or sometimes money or other property, back to the country that he, she, or it came from

Signatory: A person, organization, or country that has signed an agreement:

References

HRRC accepts NO funding from governments for our research or campaigns. At every step of the way, our impact is made possible because of people like YOU. Make your contribution now!

North Korean Defectors Accuse the Regime of Torture

Recent Posts