ID :
193449
Thu, 07/07/2011 - 11:13
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/193449
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S. Korea breaks ground for new resettlement facility for N. Korean defectors
(ATTN: RECASTS paras in 1-2; UPDATES with comment by unification minister in 9th para; minor edits in 10th para)
HWACHEON, South Korea, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of South Korean officials and local residents broke ground Thursday for a new facility for North Korean defectors as colorful confetti fluttered down and fireworks exploded.
The ceremony underscores Seoul's latest commitment to better embrace the continued stream of North Koreans fleeing their homeland to avoid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression despite fierce crackdowns on North Korean escapees by Pyongyang and Beijing.
China repatriates North Korean defectors back to their homeland, where they could face harsh punishment and even execution.
Still, tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, home to more than 21,800 North Korean defectors.
The ministry expects about 2,000 additional North Korean defectors to come to the South by the end of this year.
South Korea has already been running a key resettlement center known as Hanawon, near Seoul, to help the defectors better adjust to life in the capitalist South.
It has also rented a private facility to accommodate the North Koreans. Still the two current facilities are running at full capacity, prompting Seoul to build another resettlement center in Hwacheon, about 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
The new facility, set to be built by the end of next year, would not only offer three months of mandatory resettlement training for defectors but also provide re-education for North Korean professionals who have already completed the basic training, according to officials.
South Korea "will make its efforts to help successful resettlement" of North Korean defectors, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony.
The ceremony, which drew some 300 people, comes weeks after a high-profile defection by nine North Koreans aboard two engineless boats via the tense western sea border.
South Korea has suggested that it will not return the nine North Korean defectors to their homeland despite Pyongyang's warnings of damage to inter-Korean relations.
Defections are a constant irritant to inter-Korean relations, which have already worsened since the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
HWACHEON, South Korea, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of South Korean officials and local residents broke ground Thursday for a new facility for North Korean defectors as colorful confetti fluttered down and fireworks exploded.
The ceremony underscores Seoul's latest commitment to better embrace the continued stream of North Koreans fleeing their homeland to avoid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression despite fierce crackdowns on North Korean escapees by Pyongyang and Beijing.
China repatriates North Korean defectors back to their homeland, where they could face harsh punishment and even execution.
Still, tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, home to more than 21,800 North Korean defectors.
The ministry expects about 2,000 additional North Korean defectors to come to the South by the end of this year.
South Korea has already been running a key resettlement center known as Hanawon, near Seoul, to help the defectors better adjust to life in the capitalist South.
It has also rented a private facility to accommodate the North Koreans. Still the two current facilities are running at full capacity, prompting Seoul to build another resettlement center in Hwacheon, about 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
The new facility, set to be built by the end of next year, would not only offer three months of mandatory resettlement training for defectors but also provide re-education for North Korean professionals who have already completed the basic training, according to officials.
South Korea "will make its efforts to help successful resettlement" of North Korean defectors, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony.
The ceremony, which drew some 300 people, comes weeks after a high-profile defection by nine North Koreans aboard two engineless boats via the tense western sea border.
South Korea has suggested that it will not return the nine North Korean defectors to their homeland despite Pyongyang's warnings of damage to inter-Korean relations.
Defections are a constant irritant to inter-Korean relations, which have already worsened since the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
