Therefore, the international community has continuously focused on ensuring freedom of movement for the people of North Korea. The right to freedom of movement is one of the universal rights recognized by the international community.
Study Purpose and Method
In the process of researching the status of freedom of movement in North Korea based on evidence, it is necessary to distinguish and interpret them as somewhat redundant and contradictory. This study surveys the situation regarding freedom of movement in three main sections: ①control over people.
Control Over People with Travel Permits
Travel Permit and Limiting Residents’ Movement
According to several testimonies, it takes one to three months before a travel permit is issued. A refugee testified that he/she immediately received a travel permit to Bukcheong County, South Hamgyeong Province to visit his/her family by handing over a pack of cigarettes to a Ward 2 office r.30).
Access Restriction via Designating Approval Number Areas
In addition, the entire Jagang province, which has a high concentration of military factories, is treated as 'Approval Number Areas'. Permits for Pyongyang had a red line and an approval number, permits for border areas including Hyesan had a blue line with an approval number. The province is more difficult to access than Pyongyang.53) If individuals attempt to enter "approval number areas" for private purposes, the scale of bribery for approval procedures (including the Section 2 office) is incomparable to that for obtaining a travel permit.
To apply for an 'approval number' for various purposes, usually for business, an offer of money or items to administration officials or middle-executive members (general manager or intelligence officer) is very common. The fact that there are several approval number areas illustrates the characteristics of North Korea as a controlling state.
Travel Permit and Public Inspection
About people with travel permits... your place of birth and a travel certificate require a special permit to travel to certain regions like Pyongyang, which shows how well planned North Korea's surveillance system is. In particular, central areas are controlled in the name of 'main security', DMZ areas are controlled in the name of 'regime protection' and border areas are controlled in the name of 'regime control'. One escapee testified that he/she obtained a reprieve in the fall of 2012 by handing over a pack of cigarettes to the local Section 2 office in Pyeongseong for business purposes.62).
There are also testimonies that travel permits tied to approval number areas such as Pyongyang, Najin and Sonbong can be extended from the basic duration of 15 days or one month through bribery.63) However, home inspections and searches continue even after someone succeeds in obtaining a travel permit and arrives at his/her destination. The district head reports daily to the local MPS office and the MPS office reports to higher authorities.64) In the case of border regions, people who have successfully traveled without a travel permit are still constantly exposed to the possibility of being arrested or punished by the ongoing inspections where a person's place of origin and documents are checked.
Forced Deportation
First, although forced deportation is not established as a legal punishment in the Constitution, Criminal Law or Administrative Penal Code, it is often enforced as a type of punishment. Third, although the reason for a forced deportation may be illegal actions by a family member, the measure is also enforced to control families of escapees and simply to keep people deemed unfit - residents who are considered criminals or 'peasants' - to move to live in a certain area. They are known to be moved to desolate areas where it is .. difficult to sustain a living.69) Forced deportation can be summarized into the following four types: ①deportation due to deviance, ②deportation to control a specific area , ③deportation of family members of an escapee, and ④deportation for other reasons.
Meanwhile, there is evidence that state forced deportations have declined since Kim Jong-un took power. However, when summarizing the information on forced deportation since 2012, it can be seen that deportation is still implemented as a controlling measure.
Forced Deportation due to Deviance
Although forced deportation is not mentioned in the law, perpetrators and their families are sentenced to deportation after a trial. There was another case where the deviant was executed by the fire squad and the family was evicted. In February 2012, a neighbor living in Cheongjin, North Hamgyeong Province was deported for dealing drugs.
In April 2012, a man who lived in Hyesan, Yanggang Province was deported to Dongjung-ri, Gabsan County, Yanggang Province for drug trafficking. In March 2013, a neighbor was deported from Hyesan, Yanggang Province to Samsu County, Yanggang Province for being involved in human trafficking.
Forced Deportation of the Family Members of Escapees
There was a special order from the central authority (Kim Jong-un) to deport the remaining family members of the escapees. NHKR2015000035 According to testimonies, there appears to be a separate region where family members of escapees are deported. In addition, immediate family members are suspected to be subject to deportation, but there have been testimonies of family members being forcibly deported as well.
Forced deportation of remaining family members of refugees appears to have occurred extensively over a long period of time. Compared to other forms of forced deportation, the number of deportation cases of family members of refugees appears to be decreasing.
Other Forced Deportations
It is likely that the difficulty in providing residential areas to accommodate the growing number of escaped families and the additional defection of remaining family members is why the North Korean regime does not carry out forced deportation.89). people associated with certain events. During this incident, North Korea claimed that it was an attempt by a dissident group, South Korean intelligence agencies and the United States to destabilize the Kim Jong-un regime and incite internal chaos by destroying statues of Kim Il-sung.90) Due to In this incident, the Jeon Young Cheol's parents, who lived in Hoeryeong City, North Hamgyeong Province in the urban area, were forcibly deported to the rural area of Sinheung-ri.91) In addition, there are testimonies that Jeon Young Cheol's brother and close family members were forcibly deported from Gangan-donga, Hoeryeong, North Hamgyeong Province, to Wonsan, Gangwon Province e.92) In addition, witnesses stated that six families confirmed to have helped Jeon Young Cheol were also forcibly deported.93). In connection with Jang Sung-taek's execution, seven families were forcibly deported from Pyongyang and housed in Kowon Mine from late 2013 to early 2014.94) In addition, witnesses stated that Jang Sung-taek's neighboring family was forcibly deported to Yonsa County , North Hamgyeong Province because he is associated with Jang Sung-taek.95).
As such, families, relatives, and those involved in certain incidents or figures continue to be forcibly deported in North Korea. It is shown that the scope of people subject to deportation due to incidents and figures of high political influence is much broader than the scope of deviant actors or deportation of remaining family members.
Restricted Border Access and Prevention of Free Leave
Ultimately, the tightening of border entry control leads to higher bribes for issuing passports and increased broker fees for crossing the border.
Strict Control of Issuing Immigration Documents
Passports
Individuals traveling on personal matters will apply for passports and visas directly to the immigration project organization of the area of residence concerned. Individuals traveling on personal matters must apply directly for immigration documents in the border area to the immigration project organization of the area of residence in question. Once a passport application is submitted to an officer in the foreign affairs division of the SSD in the residential area, the application is reviewed and approved by the SSD in Pyongyang and becomes a passport.
Once the visa is issued, the passport is sent to the SSD foreign affairs division officer in the area of residence and handed over to the applicant. It is safe to say that the amount of the bribe is proportional to the speed of passport issuance and the skills of the officer in charge.
Border Area Immigration Documents
It is safe to say that the amount of the bribe is proportional to the speed of the passport issuance and the capabilities of the officer in charge. department as with the issuance of passports, reveals that obtaining the issuance of immigration documents in the border area appears to be relatively easier than the issuance of passports. When North Koreans in the border area go to China to visit relatives, they must go through the "invitation notification" procedures. According to testimonies, even if legal procedures are followed when applying for immigration documents in the border area, it is usually difficult to obtain these documents without paying bribes.
According to one escapee, a river crossing pass was issued four years later in 2011 only after paying one million won in North Korean currency, when the application was submitted to the foreign affairs office of SSD province in 2007.110) Issuance of border area immigration documents seems to have become almost impossible since border controls have been strengthened since Kim Jong-un came to power. Border area immigration documents are issued to those who live in the border area and want to visit relatives or do small-scale business abroad and depending on international circumstances and the situation of the regime, control appears to be increased and decreased by discretionary measures.
Strengthened Immigration Inspection
Before the Immigration Act was amended, it did not have separate regulations on the means of transport used for arrival and departure. However, after amendment, according to Article 35, transport agencies must give advance notice to the immigration inspection agency about the immigration data of the transport vehicles. Furthermore, according to Article 37, citizens and foreigners who cross the border by driving must receive an inspection of their car border pass issued by the immigration agency or a similar agency in the peer country.
According to Article 38, foreign vessels must be inspected by the immigration inspection agency before calling at the commercial port and must not deviate from the designated route. Immigration inspection of citizens and aliens arriving at and departing from the border had been undertaken before the Aliens Act had been amended.
Strengthened Control and Punishment of Illegal Border Crossings
Persons who cross the border illegally will be penalized with a maximum one year short-term labor training sentence. According to some testimonies, the illegal crossing of the border is still considered a crime against the state and the people, and as such heavier punishments are applied.115). In November 2010, right after Kim Jong-un was confirmed as the official successor, he instructed to "sound the horn at the border as a test run," and deployed a security inspection group consisting of officers from the SSD, the command of the security department. , and central authority, to the border area.116).
In 2014, border guards were ordered to "shoot and kill anyone who does not stop and resist orders when caught attempting to defect." As more and more people escaped by bribing the border guards, Kim Jong-un transferred authority from the border guards of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces to .. 116) Kyu-Chang Lee, "North Korea's Harsher Surveillance and Punishment of Defectors and Our Response," .
Conclusion
Evidence of migration for livelihood, migration to visit relatives, migration in search of better opportunities and other movements for various reasons have been recorded. More research needs to be done, especially on the current state of movement of people living in the interior areas of North Korea rather than the border areas. While the North Korean regime's control over its people cannot be rolled back overnight, forced deportation and other active violations of human rights can be stopped at the national level.
The international community, starting with South Korea, must work tirelessly to ensure freedom of movement for the people of North Korea, gather more evidence that specifically shows forced deportation and other human rights violations. At the same time, it is important to take a firm stand regarding the human rights violations experienced by large numbers of refugees after being forcibly repatriated to North Korea.
Freedom of Movement in North Korea
