탈북자 문제에 대한 한국의 입장과 대응

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to examine South Korean government's defector policy. Then, I seek to analyze underlying reasons and logic behind a increasing number of North Koreans, and to discuss South Korea's defector policy since Kim Youngsam era. The number of incoming North Korean defectors has been increasing mainly because of the North's famine and economic hardship. Complicating problem further, the U.S. passed North Korean Human Right Act, which authorizes the U.S. president to provide assistance to organization that help North Korean refugees, defectors and orphans outside of North Korea. I argue that the South Korean government must realize the defector issue is one of pending and urgent. In this way, I point out the Roh administration must come up with concrete policy strategies rather than resorting to silent diplomacy, which presumes the mass entry of them would run counter to inter-Korean rapprochement. In the latter section of the paper, I argue that the South needs to review existing defector programs and to establish networks of cooperative relations with NGO, instead of demanding that they refrain from helping defectors.