DEFECTORS

The JoonAng Ilbo reports a shift in the type of defectors who are leaving North Korea:

Previously, most defectors had been individuals. In 2001, among 583 North Korean defectors who came South 254 were single defectors; in 2002, out of the 1,140 defectors, 694 were single. Nowadays, defectors who have managed to reach and settle in South Korea make efforts to bring their families who may be in the North, in China or in Southeast Asia.

Also, as economic hardships increased in the North, the authorities' internal control weakened somewhat, leading to easier escapes to China. In the late 1990s, most defectors were fleeing natural disasters and food shortages; once they found food and earned money in China, they often returned home.

Nowadays, however, defectors leaving the North are seeking a better life. According to the Korea Institute for National Unification, the recent influx does not consist of the poor, but those from better-off groups. There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of women and children reaching the South in recent years.

There's not much analysis here. However, a case could be made that the rising exodus of people who had held relatively high-ranking positions is further evidence that the North is heading toward a collapse. The top echelon of a society generally does not flee unless things are grievously amiss.

(That dictum also applies to the 'brain drain' in the only other northern country that outlaws private healthcare.)