New policy to bombard North Koreans with information could spark new wave of defections
While it’s still controversial, whether the South Korean President’s new unification policy has encouraged the recent flood of defections, the defectors in South Korea interprete it as a positive signal (Image: Office of the President Republic of Korea)
Could South Korea’s new unification policy unleash a flood of defections and undermine the regime of Kim Jong-un?
While some defectors are critical of the new policy for indirectly closing the door to dialogue, there is also an expectation that it might subvert the regime and prompt many people, including elites, to escape.
In a speech on August 15, marking the 79th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule at the end of World War Two, President Yoon Suk-Yeol diverged from the usual line that typically emphasizes colonization and calls for apologies and reparations from the Japanese government.
Instead, he laid out a vision for the future.
“Our people must firmly establish the values and capabilities to pursue unification based on freedom,” he said. “We must create a change that makes North Korean citizens long for free unification (and) we must work in solidarity with the international community.”
Yoon’s approach is new and stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who focused on recognizing and cooperating with Pyongyang in a way that required Seoul to largely overlook human rights. This was ironic given Moon’s background as a human rights lawyer. The most notable incident reflecting this policy was the forced repatriation without any due process of two North Korean fishermen suspected of murder.
However, Yoon’s human rights-centric approach, which includes the usual carrot of economic cooperation if North Korea begins denuclearization, is unlikely to be effective with regard to dialogue.
For the North Korean regime, the mention of human rights is a declaration of war. “Of course, human rights for North Korean citizens are important,” said Kang, 56, a missionary dealing with North Koreans in Russia. “However, the moment we put that issue front and center, the North Korean government will shut its doors even more tightly, cutting off all channels of dialogue. A warm sun may make a traveler remove their coat, but a strong wind never will.”
The irony is, Jang said, that by emphasizing human rights, we actually lose all leverage to address the issue. “I believe (former President) Moon Jae-in refrained from mentioning human rights for this reason,” he noted. “Addressing North Korea directly on its human rights issues is a sign of diplomatic incompetence. What the peninsula needs is peace, not war and confrontation. The solution lies in addressing human rights gradually over the long term. Outright condemnation is something a child would do, not a president. I’m deeply disappointed.”
Many South Koreans, on the other hand, are supportive, seeing the voicing of what they perceive to be true as a welcome change. “I can somewhat understand the logic that in order to open up North Korea, we need to placate them, even to the point of submission,” said Sim, 45, a former journalist now in real estate. “But that’s what we did. We appeased them, handed over defectors, catered to their sensitivities at the UN, and refrained from actions that might offend them. But what did we get in return? Did Kim Jong-un stop developing nuclear weapons? Did he halt missile development? Did he stop provoking the South? No. All that did was wound our national pride. There’s no need to repeat failed policies. It’s time to try something new.”
The point in Yoon’s vision of making North Korean citizens “long for free unification” has become a hot topic both domestically and internationally, as it implies that the South Korean government will actively seek to influence North Korean citizens.
It suggests a large-scale, state-sponsored barrage of external information.
For defectors, this opens up an exciting possibility. “I found it truly moving,” said Kim, 35, who arrived in the South last year. “It feels like unification could happen any day now. The situation inside North Korea is very unstable. People are anxious about things like exchange rate adjustments, trade restrictions, and increasing market control. Under these circumstances, if South Korea could provide them with information and a way to survive, it could lead to unexpected outcomes.”
Kim quoted North Korean sayings to the effect that smarter people defect quicker and only the weak never defect.
“It’s exciting to hear the president’s message that South Korea welcomes defectors and that the South Korean government will implement a large-scale, state-sponsored information campaign targeting North Korea. It feels like we might soon be able to reunite with our families,” he said.
Another defector, Jung, 51, in the South since 2022, said a state-sponsored information campaign targeting North Koreans would have a devastating impact on the regime.
“I interacted extensively with high-ranking officials in North Korea, including central committee heads, and here’s the irony: the poorer and more oppressed the people are, the more they’ve been brainwashed to support Kim Jong-un,” he said. “But the elites, who carry out the regime’s policies and enjoy its privileges, tend to harbor the most discontent against the dictatorship. Isn’t that ironic?”
These elites remain outwardly loyal because they fear for their safety and future. For nearly 80 years, the regime has been telling them that defectors are badly treated as “traitors and trash” whether they’re in the North or the South.
“They believe this propaganda,” Jung said. “However, if South Korea could provide defectors with even a slight sense of security regarding their future, people in the North would waver. Yoon’s speech removed one of the barriers preventing elites from defecting. If this plan is implemented and North Koreans are widely exposed to external information, many of them will fixate on defecting.”
“Honestly, before I defected, I was very uncertain about how the South Korean government would treat me,” he said. “If I had known in advance about the support and preferential policies I would receive as a defector, I wouldn’t have spent so much time agonizing over my decision.”
Yoon’s August 15 statement that “We will create a change that makes North Korean citizens long for free unification,” is already in action. The radio station Voice of Freedom resumed broadcasts into North Korea in June, after being halted in 2017.
Leaflet balloon campaigns by defector organizations, illegal during Moon’s presidency, have also resumed, further straining inter-Korean relations as North Korea retaliated with balloons filled with waste.
How much further the South Korean government will expand its state-sponsored information campaign targeting North Koreans, and what impact this will have on the situation on the peninsula and the behavior of North Korean citizens, remains to be seen.
Zane is a defector from North Korea. Before defecting in 2022, he worked at a state-run North Korean company based in Russia. Prior to his assignment in Russia, he had worked at the external affairs department of a company affiliated with the DPRK's Escort Bureau. He graduated from Pyongyang University of Architecture.
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