Chinese police ranked 2nd in N. Korean enforced disappearances: report

Chinese police rank as the second-largest force after North Korea's secret police in arresting and facilitating the enforced disappearances of North Koreans, according to a report released by a human rights organization Thursday.

The Seoul-based nonprofit Transitional Justice Working Group released findings based on data from 66 cases involving 113 North Korean victims of enforced disappearance. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 62 North Korean escapees in South Korea between January 2021 and May 2024, though one interviewee later retracted their testimony.

Based on the interviews conducted, 35 people disappeared under Kim Jong-un's regime between December 2011 and April 2021, while 68 disappeared during his father Kim Jong-il's rule and 7 under his grandfather Kim Il-sung. The year of the disappearance of three victims remains unknown.

According to the report, 90 out of the 113 known North Korean victims of enforced disappearance -- 79.6 percent -- were arrested within North Korea, while 23, or 20.4 percent, were apprehended overseas. Among these, 19 were detained in China, three in Russia and one in Vietnam.

China's Ministry of Public Security, effectively the national police authority, was responsible for the arrest of 17 victims, and the Chinese Ministry of State Security detained one. The remaining victim was apprehended by an agent from North Korea's Ministry of State Security operating within China.

Of the three victims arrested in Russia, two were arrested by the Russian state and the remaining victim’s perpetrating organ could not be identified. One victim was arrested in Vietnam by the Vietnamese police.

"TJWG intends also to inform the international community that China and Russia also significantly partake in enforced disappearances in North Korea. Many North Korean escapees, or those seeking asylum in third countries, are vulnerable to enforced disappearances after being arrested and repatriated from other countries," TJWG Project Director Kang Jeong-hyun said.

"These arrests are carried out by state agencies of different countries or North Korean agents dispatched to those countries. Hence, we highlight the critical need to define enforced disappearance as a transnational crime and respond accordingly."

The Ministry of State Security, North Korea's secret police agency, was the primary perpetrator in cases of arrests within the country, responsible for detaining 61 out of 90 victims. Other involved agencies included border guards, the Defense Security Bureau, the Ministry of Social Security and the Non-Socialist Inspection Group.

The Ministry of State Security is one of North Korea's most critical regime security and social discipline agencies. It is responsible for uncovering spies and counter-revolutionaries, monitoring citizen ideological leanings and conducting intelligence operations against South Korea.

The report further revealed that children under the age of 10 comprised 11.5 percent, or 13 out of 113, of enforced disappearance cases. The primary reasons for these disappearances were guilt by association with five victims, attempted escape from North Korea with four victims and preparation for escape with three victims.

Regarding the grounds for enforced disappearance in total, the most common reason is related to defection from North Korea, accounting for 45 victims, or 39.8 percent. Among these, 21 victims disappeared after being repatriated following defection attempts, 12 victims disappeared while attempting to escape, 7 disappeared while preparing to escape and 5 disappeared while assisting others in escaping.

"The fact that disappearances after repatriation occurred a lot more than others illustrates that even if the crime of enforced disappearance ultimately occurred within North Korea, China is also largely responsible for the disappearance of these victims," read the report titled "Existing 'Nowhere': Looking into North Korea’s Crime of Enforced Disappearance."

According to the report, guilt by association was the second most common reason for disappearance, accounting for 29 victims, or 25.7 percent.

The report cited a case in which a woman was arrested by North Korea's Ministry of State Security for possessing confidential military documents. Subsequently, her adult children were forcibly disappeared for four months between late 2011 and early 2012 due to guilt by association. Two of their spouses also disappeared for unspecified reasons.

Among other reasons for enforced disappearances, contact with South Korea and the outside world ranked third, involving 10 victims or 8.8 percent. Criticism of the Kim family and the political system was the fourth most common cause, with 8 victims, or 7.1 percent. Religious activities were the fifth most common reason, accounting for 6 victims, or 5.3 percent.

"These grounds clearly show that enforced disappearances have been carried out to maintain the regime and the Kim family’s power. This supports that Kim Jong Un is ultimately responsible for the countless enforced disappearances that have occurred in North Korea to this day," the report read. "It is critical for the international community to adamantly reprove North Korea for making not only the accused but also their families vulnerable to enforced disappearance."

Among the interviewees, 36 defected between 2012 and 2023 under Kim Jong-un's rule, while 25 defected from 1996 to 2011 during Kim Jong-il's regime. One interviewee later retracted their statement.