Dec. 23 (Asia Today) -- Some North Korean-born people of Chinese descent become effectively stateless as soon as they arrive in South Korea, rights advocates and defectors say, because authorities do not recognize them as defectors and instead assign them a "non-protected" status that can leave them unable to remain in the country.
Those classified as non-protected are not covered by settlement support provided to recognized North Korean defectors and may face removal, leaving them in what advocates describe as a human rights blind spot.
The number of North Korean-born ethnic Chinese confirmed in South Korea is estimated at about 30 to 40, though the figure is not publicly verified. The Justice Ministry does not disclose related data, citing the sensitivity of inter-Korean issues, the report said.
One group includes second- and third-generation ethnic Chinese who were born and raised in North Korea. Their parents often traveled between China and North Korea for trade, and the children grew up in North Korea while being treated there as Chinese nationals, the report said. After the late 1990s, as economic conditions worsened in North Korea, some began fleeing, with South Korea seen as a destination because of language and cultural similarities.
