North Korean Refugees

At A Glance

The IRC advocates on behalf of refugees fleeing repressive regimes throughout the world, including North Korea.  An estimated 30,000 to 60,000 North Korean refugees and asylum seekers are currently in China. 

Although China is a party to the UN Refugee Convention, it refuses to acknowledge the refugee claims of these individuals and instead considers them all to be “food migrants.”  China arrests most North Koreans and forcibly returns to them to North Korea in violation of its international obligations. 

Persons fleeing North Korea have a prima facie claim to refugee status, not only because of the political persecution and repression they’re fleeing but also because: (1) food is distributed by the North Korean regime based on political loyalty, which means that the famine itself has a persecution element; and (2) under the North Korean penal code, North Koreans who flee the country and then are forced to return are subject to extremely harsh penalties—in some cases even the death penalty.

Approximately 2,000 North Koreans make it to South Korea each year, which officially welcomes the “defectors” and automatically grants them citizenship.  Yet, the vast majority of North Korean refugees remain in precarious situations in China or other countries in the region.  Their plight is one of the most compelling, yet least publicized, refugee situations in the world today.

The International Rescue Committee calls on the neighboring states of North Korea to respect the right of first asylum for refugees fleeing oppression and politically manipulated food shortages in North Korea. 

These refugees have been conferred “Persons of Concern” (POC) status by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the international agency with the legal authority under international law for the protection of refugees. The UNHCR should be granted access to these individuals and allowed to conduct refugee status determinations as required by international law.

What Can I Do?

Learn More:

• Because the IRC does not operate programs in North Korea or China, we recommend interested visitors to Refugees International's reports on North Korean refugees

Take Action

• For American citizens, you can send an e-mail to your member of Congress supporting greater US engagement in addressing the plight of those fleeing North Korea.  
• Citizens of other countries should urge their governments to press China to honor its international obligations by refraining from returning North Koreans to persecution and by granting UNHCR access to this population.