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North Korean refugees

Cheong-Suk Ryang, 36, a defector from North Korea hoping to reach South Korea via Thailand, sits in her cell at the Chiang Saen police station in Thailand, after she and four other North Korean women were arrested on the Thai-Lao border. Photo taken May 9

More North Koreans are escaping to Thailand via an ‘underground railroad’

Justice

Thailand is about 3,000 miles from North Korea. But for North Koreans seeking to defect from their abusive state into South Korea, it’s the closest reachable nation where they can reasonably expect that the government will deliver them to South Korean officials.

Students from the Daum School on a field trip with their teacher. Their faces are blurred to protect their privacy. Many North Korean refugees have trouble adjusting to life in fast-paced South Korea, especially at school.

North Korean students learn to deal with trauma at this Seoul school

Conflict
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