Chinese authorities raise reward money for North Korean defectors

source: DailyNK
Chinese authorities raise reward money for North Korean defectors

Following Kim Jong Un’s visit to China last month, the reward for reporting North Korean defectors hiding inside the country or anyone engaged in illegal transactions in the Sino-North Korea border area has increased, according to sources in the region.


A source in China close to North Korean affairs told Daily NK on April 17 that following Kim Jong Un’s visit to China, the Chinese authorities have been offering 5000 RMB to those who report North Korean defectors hiding inside the country and that China’s Ministry of Public Security has “caught a lot of people as a result.”


According to the source, the reward for reporting defectors, which China refers to as “illegal economic migrants,” used to be between 300-500 RMB.


A separate source in China confirmed these developments, noting, “The Chinese authorities aren’t just actively after defectors, but ‘anyone involved in smuggling activities’ in the border area. Still, North Koreans continue to engage in these activities with an attitude of, “If I live, I live. If I die, I die,” he said, explaining that despite the heightened risk due to crackdowns in the region, the threat of arrest is perennial and those engaged continually put themselves in such peril in order to survive.


Daily NK reported earlier in April that over 1,000 North Korean laborers were preparing to be dispatched to work assignments in Dandong, China. The news followed sightings earlier this month of over 400 North Korean workers in the Chinese city of Helong to the east, together suggesting that the two countries may be cooperating to restart joint business ventures in China.