Daily NK has learned that the 16 North

Koreans from North Hamgyung Province, who defected at the beginning of this

month, have arrived safely in Thailand. The defection, coined the “three-family

defection” was first covered by Daily NK on August 9th.

A source in North Hamgyung Province

reported on August 21st, “I received confirmation from a source in China who

helped them along the way, that the

group has arrived in Thailand. After an initial few days in China, they quickly

moved on to a bordering country.”

This comes as great relief to families of

the group still in the North who have long awaited news of their loved ones’

status and whereabouts. Until now, “ we were on pins and needles, but now that

we know they they are out of harm’s way, we can sleep easy tonight.”

The source indicated that recent inminban[people’s unit] meetings have been replete with warnings and threats to deter those interested

in following the “three-family defection.” This behavior is expected by the

authorities, who are reeling from the mass defection incident.

“Everyone trying to cross into China has

been caught,” they menace, going on, “Traitors will invariably be seized, so

don’t attempt to try to escape.” The threats fall on dubious ears though, the

source said, people have little trust in anything claims originating from the

authorities.

“Rumor spreads fast among people in the

region about those who tried to defect; they, more than anyone else, tend to

know best the truth about those who have defected. If anyone trying to escape

is detained at any point, word travels fast in an effort to warn others, who may

be considering defecting themselves,

that the conditions are too dangerous at given periods of time.”

“Even if you escape the North, it’s only a

matter of time until you get caught in China or elsewhere,” the authorities

warn, but Daily NK’s source confirmed that relatives of the recent group, that

crossed the Sino-North Korean border from Osong County [in North Hamgyung

Province], had received no such news.”

He went on, “People still risk punitive measures like detainment or having family members dragged

away as punishment, so we realize that those threats must not be empty; some

people are still managing to escape unscathed.”

The onset of the Kim Jong Eun era, rife

with paranoia, saw increased border regulation,

abductions of family members of defectors, and other desperate attempts to regain control. Punishment for such transgressions also grew more severe.

“Despite stringent measures and threats by

the authorities to prevent defections, they failed to stop the infinite line of

people desperate to escape. Now they’ve started expanding surveillance posts to

try to tighten up the border,” he explained. “It’s going to get even harder for

people trying to get out.”