韓国に渡った脱北者数、昨年は２００１年以降最低に　韓国政府発表

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国へと逃れた脱北者の数が昨年、2001年以降最低となったことが分かった。韓国政府が20日、発表した。北朝鮮政府が脱北の取り締まりを強めており、減少傾向が続いている。（写真は資料写真）
　韓国統一省が公表したデータによると、昨年韓国に渡った北朝鮮人は１０４７人前後で、２０１８年の１１３７人から減少。２００１年以降最低となった。
　ただこの数字は、厳密には北朝鮮を出国した人数というよりも、韓国に入国した人数に関するもの。
　貧困にあえぐ北朝鮮を後にした脱北者たちはたびたび、中国に複数年滞在した後、第三国を経由して韓国に向かう。
　朝鮮半島が分断された１９４８年から昨年末まで、韓国に入国した北朝鮮人は３万３５００人超に上る。
　ただ韓国に到着した人々の数は、２００９年の２９１４人がピークで、２０１１年末に金正恩（キム・ジョンウン）氏が権力の座について以降、減少傾向にある。
　同じく脱北者で、韓国の首都ソウル在住の研究者である安燦一（アン・チャンイル）氏は、「境界線沿いにさらに鉄条網が設置されている。当局がより多くの報酬を提供しようとしているので、脱北者が警備隊を賄賂で買収するのがさらに困難になっている」と指摘している。
　脱北者の大部分は女性で、昨年韓国に到着したうちの約８１％を占める。これは、北朝鮮の男性は全員、仕事が割り当てられており、いなくなればすぐに当局に気付かれてしまうため、女性の方が脱北しやすいためだ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/01/21-12:47）

The number of North Koreans defecting to the South dropped to its lowest in nearly two decades last year, Seoul said Monday, continuing a downward trend as Pyongyang tightens controls on movement.
Some 1,047 North Koreans arrived in the democratic South last year, down from 1,137 in 2018, according to data released by the unification ministry.
It was the lowest figure since 2001.
The number relates specifically to those arriving in the South, rather than those leaving the North.
The vast majority of defectors from the impoverished North, which suffers chronic food shortages and is subject to UN Security Council sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, go first to China.
They sometimes stay there for several years before making their way to the South, often via a third country.
By the end of December, more than 33,500 North Korean defectors had entered the South since 1948, when the two Koreas separated.
Arrivals peaked at 2,914 in 2009, but have mostly declined since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un came into power in late 2011.
We've seen more wire fences go up along the border and it is harder for escapees to bribe the guards as authorities are willing to offer bigger rewards, said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and researcher in Seoul.
Women account for the lion's share of defectors, making up around 81 percent of last year's arrivals.
It is easier for women to leave the North as men all have assigned jobs, making any absence easier to spot for the authorities.
Once defectors they arrive in the South, some struggle to adjust to their new life.
Last year, a 42-year-old woman and her six-year-old son were found dead in their home -- along with an empty fridge and unpaid bills -- two months after their deaths.
The South's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday that a 62-year-old man from the North who arrived in 2008 had been found dead on a mountain in Daegu, leaving behind a note saying: It is too hard to live.