Growing up, I often listened to stories about my grandfather, a Pyongyang native who witnessed the end of the Japanese occupation after World War II with strong optimism for the future of Korea. He recognized, however, the potential conflict brewing between the two Koreas occupied by Soviet Russia and the United States, and he chose to seek sanctuary in the south. It was his wish that he would be reunited with the rest of his family once the Korean War had ended. Unfortunately, that day never came.
And while the most popular point of current discussion seems to be the matter of the North Korean succession, such events only dim the spotlight of what should be the focal point of international awareness: the North Korean people.
The most pressing concern for North Koreans is the basic food supply. In 2006, Amnesty International reported 7 percent of children were severely malnourished; 37 percent were chronically malnourished; 23 percent were underweight the tragic result of the severe three-year famine known as the "Arduous March" that caused an estimated 300,000 to 800,000 deaths per year. The United States has done its fair share to assist North Korea: According to the 2008 CRS Report to Congress, the U.S provided North Korea with over $1 billion in assistance since 1995. And just this week South Korea began sending $8.5 million worth of food and aid across the border. Donor countries, however, have little oversight of the distribution of the resources to those who are actually suffering.
In response to the political, economic and agricultural insecurities, many North Koreans have attempted to escape the country. Those who are caught attempting to defect risk imprisonment, forced labor, torture and possibly even execution in North Korean political prisons. Yet for those who were lucky enough to slip past the border sentries, safety is still not guaranteed. China, a political ally of Pyongyang, refuses to grant political asylum to the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 escapees, and "repatriates" the apprehended refugees back to North Korea. Many of those who evade capture often live in political limbo, even after marrying Chinese citizens or fleeing to more sympathetic countries such as Japan, Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippines or South Korea.
And for women refugees, prospects are especially grim. According to the United Nations Commissions on Human Rights, about 70 percent of the defectors are women a majority of whom are victims of human trafficking. Additionally, in the case of pregnant women being deported back to North Korea, many are forced to abort their babies in order to protect the "purity" of the North Korean lineage.
Yet much of the North Koreans' plight have remained unseen and unheard until relatively recently, as activists have smuggled out tapes depicting the abject oppressions in North Korea and as increasing number of escapees have begun to testify before international organizations such as the United Nations. Other organizations have also sprung to assist the refugees directly. Some, like Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), have taken upon themselves to deliver North Koreans hiding in China to South Korea or to the United States as political refugees. Others, like People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE), have elected to help the refugees adapt to their new home countries. Yet what all of these groups have in common is the desire to distribute the refugees' stories to the international community.
Although Kim Jong-Il's rule will soon come to an end, his successor, Jong-Un, inspires little optimism for the future of his subjects, whose sufferings are often overshadowed by the ridiculous actions of their ruling regime. And while the North Korean government is busy preparing for the future ascendency of Kim Jong-Il's heir, China, the United States and South Korea must work to answer some crucial questions of their own. Will Kim's successor have the will and the guile to continue his father's iron will upon the North Korean people? In case of a political disaster within the hermit state, which country will rise to maintain the peace? Will political and cultural pacification between the two Koreas ever be possible?
And of course, most pressingly, what will become of the North Korean people?
