Since the division of Korea after World War II and the end of the Korean War (1950–1953), some North Koreans have managed to defect for political, ideological, religious, economic or personal reasons.
Starting from the North Korean famine of the 1990s, more North Koreans have defected. The most common strategy is to cross the border into Jilin and Liaoning provinces in northeast China before fleeing to a third country, due to China being a relatively-close ally of North Korea. China, being the most influential of few economic partners of North Korea while the country has been under U.N. sanctions for decades, is also the largest and continuous aid source of the country. To avoid worsening the already tense relations with the Korean Peninsula, China refuses to grant North Korean defectors refugee status and considers them illegal economic migrants. About 76% to 84% of defectors interviewed in China or South Korea came from the Northeastern provinces bordering China. If the defectors are caught in China, they are repatriated back to North Korea where they often face harsh interrogations and years of punishment, or even death in political prison camps such as Yodok camp, or reeducation camps such as Chungsan camp or Chongori camp.
Even though the number of North Korean defectors reached its peak in 1998 and 1999, the estimated population is believed to have declined since then. Some main reasons for the falling number of defectors especially since 2000 are strict border patrols and inspections, forced deportations, and rising cost for defection. During the mourning period of Kim Jong-il 's death on December 17, 2011 and the start of Kim Jong-un's rule, the movements of people were tightened and strictly controlled. This included requiring families that live near the border areas to take turns standing guard, having strong official warnings that three generations of a family would be destroyed if caught defecting, as well as having the defector being executed on-site. The number of North Korean defectors has dramatically decreased as a result.
One of the most prominent defections occurred in April 2016 by 13 North Korean restaurant workers in Ningbo, Zhejiang province of China. This group defection is significant to the human rights and forced repatriation issues of North Korea since the workers decided to defect in a group instead of monitoring each other. They also legally crossed the border between North Korea and China with official passports and visas issued from the North Korean government. After being educated on security and South Korean social issues, all 13 North Korean defectors were approved for social resettlement in August 2016. An interview request from Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society) regarding whether the defect was voluntary or not was ignored and rejected.
