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Photo caption: A resident looks at a photo of Chairman Kim Jong-un outside the North Korean embassy in Moscow, Russia, last month.Article related information
- Reporter, Richard Kim
- Reporter, BBC Korea
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9 minutes ago
While the world’s attention is focused on who will win the U.S. presidential election, North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea are also paying close attention to the results of the U.S. presidential election. This is because I believe that the situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as the future of North Korea may change depending on the results of the presidential election.
In particular, North Korean defectors’ interest in the results of the presidential election appears to be heightened as North Korean authorities have recently dispatched troops to Russia.
Who do North Korean defectors hope to win more: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? The BBC met with North Korean defectors in various parts of South Korea and heard their perspectives directly.
Although the opinions of North Korean defectors were diverse, we could see a common desire for peace on the Korean Peninsula and human rights guarantees for North Korean residents.
Some North Korean defectors expressed considerable concern over North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia and hoped to maintain a strong international order beyond peace on the Korean Peninsula.
They hoped that a responsible leader who could bring real change to North Korea would be elected. In general, there were many North Korean defectors who pinned their hopes on the diplomatic approach of Democratic candidate Harris, but there were also those who believed that Republican candidate Trump’s return to power would contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
‘Strong leadership needed’
Park Myung-ho (60), whom we met at a stadium in Seoul, said, “I think candidate Trump’s return to power will help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” Mr. Park, who lived in Chongjin, North Korea, escaped on a wooden boat with his wife and two sons in 2006. Currently, Mr. Park runs a raw fish restaurant in Goseong, Gangwon-do with his family.
On this day, an athletic competition was held at the stadium with over 10,000 displaced people and North Korean defectors.
Mr. Park watched the tense tug-of-war game taking place on the playground and said, “North Korea has not changed for decades, but Trump attempted to change it by meeting Kim Jong-un three times.” He added, “Trump’s strong leadership is likely to lead to North Korea’s opening.” “He said.
Mr. Park argued that the United States must play a strong role in correcting the international order and that a strong leader like candidate Trump is needed.
Mr. Jeong (81), who requested anonymity, mentioned the case of the North Korean authorities dispatching troops to Russia and said with tears in his eyes that he could not sleep because he was worried about the son he left behind in North Korea.
He, who is from Pyongyang and settled in South Korea in 2017, said, “North Korea recently exploded the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line that connected North and South Korea, and is even sending troops to Russia. The problem of sending troops is very serious.” He added, “Unification seems even more unlikely in the future.” He sighed.
He continued, “We don’t know how many more North Korean young people will be dispatched to Russia, and in this situation, it is very important who becomes the President of the United States,” and added, “We need a leader who can restrain the North Korean regime.”
Chae Yun-seo (27), who defected from North Korea in August 2019, had a special feeling watching the U.S. presidential election because she watched three North Korea-US summits in North Korea.
Candidate Trump was at odds with Chairman Kim Jong-un in the early days of his inauguration in 2018, and then held three summits: in Singapore on June 12 of that year, in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27, 2019, and in Panmunjom on June 30, 2019.
At the time, President Trump expressed personal intimacy by saying, “I am in love with Kim Jong-un,” while engaging in personal diplomacy, which he defined as a “love letter.” At the time, North Korean media extensively reported on the North Korea-US summit and other details.
Chae, who attended a nurse training school in North Korea, expected that the economic difficulties of the residents could improve while watching news about the North Korea-US summit. However, Chae recalled, no changes occurred due to the authorities’ strict control.
According to Mr. Chae, the North Korean authorities continued to engage in dialogue with the United States, but behind the scenes, they continued to educate the North Korean people not to have illusions about the hostile country (the United States).
He said, “In such a situation, I had a sad premonition that the North Korea-US summit was nothing more than a passing incident,” and added, “I prefer candidate Harris over Trump because an increase in defense cost sharing between Korea and the United States could cause domestic conflict and have a negative impact on Korea-U.S. relations.” emphasized.
‘Relieving tensions on the Korean Peninsula is the top priority’
On the other hand, there were quite a few North Korean defectors who showed unwavering support for candidate Trump.
Park Soo-hyun (58), ‘Korea’s first North Korean defector,’ Park Soo-hyun (58) believes that candidate Trump’s return to the White House is a way to lower the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. Park, who currently runs an oriental medicine clinic in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, looked positively at Trump’s return to power, saying, “Trump will be able to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula by continuing dialogue with Kim Jong-un.”
In particular, Park Soo-hyun said, “North Korean people are also very interested in the results of the U.S. presidential election because of concerns about the possibility of war,” and added, “Candidate Trump can contribute to lowering the risk of war through his relationship with Kim Jong-un.”
Mr. Jang (43), who lived in Chongjin, North Korea, but defected in 2001, also said that Trump’s return to power could contribute to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, adding, “It is important for North Korea and the United States to talk and communicate with each other.”
‘Concerns about strengthening Kim Jong-un’s regime’
Many North Korean defectors the BBC met expressed disappointment that candidate Trump’s diplomacy toward North Korea had not been of any real help to the North Korean people.
They had a common perception that candidate Trump had actually strengthened the Kim Jong-un regime. There was also considerable concern about the possibility of renegotiation of the defense cost sharing agreement with Korea.
Ms. Lee (female, 50) from Hamgyeong Province, whom I met at a sports event for displaced people and North Korean defectors, was skeptical about candidate Trump’s policy toward North Korea.
Mr. Lee, who attends this sports festival held every year to soothe his longing for his hometown, said, “Candidate Trump only exchanged letters and met with Kim Jong-un, but did not bring any real change to the North Korean people. Rather, it only resulted in boosting the North Korean regime.” “I gave birth,” he said.
Ms. Jeong (female, 51), who defected from North Korea in 2017, also expressed skepticism about candidate Trump’s meeting. She said, “Praising Kim Jong-un as smart and smart, praising the dictator or defending the system is not helpful at all to peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Candidate Trump said in January, “Kim Jong-un was very smart and tough, but he liked me,” and “I got along well with him and felt safe.”
Meanwhile, at a campaign rally in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 29 (local time), Candidate Harris defined Trump as “a person who admires dictators” and said, “Dictators like Putin and Kim Jong-un are rooting for him.”
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Photo caption: North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump meet in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2019.
Kim Young-cheol (70s) from Pyongyang said, “Candidate Trump resulted in strengthening Kim Jong-un’s political position.”
He said, “Kim Jong-un is a dictator who executed his uncle and poisoned his half-brother,” and added, “But the American president, who is called the world’s policeman, called such a dictator a ‘friend’ or evaluated him as ‘clever’ and had three summit meetings with him. “As a result, nothing has led to any change in North Korea,” he pointed out.
He said, “If candidate Trump comes back to power, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un will get what he wants due to the increase in South Korea’s defense budget and the possibility of withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea.” He added, “Harris, a former lawyer who can confidently criticize a dictator as a dictator, will be the president of the United States.” “This would be desirable not only for North Korea but also for the Korean people,” he analyzed.
Candidate Trump has said several times that Korea should pay more for its defense costs. Accordingly, if candidate Trump returns to power, there is a possibility that he will demand renegotiation of the ROK-US defense cost-sharing agreement (SMA) and demand a significant increase from Korea. This is why there are concerns that if candidate Trump returns to power, Korea’s economic burden will increase and tensions may form in the ROK-US alliance.
On the other hand, Candidate Harris’ position is that ‘Korea is already sharing a significant amount of defense costs.’ In particular, Candidate Harris’ key foreign affairs and security advisors sympathize with the importance of the ROK-US alliance and have repeatedly expressed their will to maintain and develop the alliance relationship.
Maeng Hyo-sim (23), a female college student she met at a cafe in Seoul, hoped that both South Korean and North Korean residents would live more stable lives.
Mr. Maeng, who escaped North Korea and arrived in Seoul in 2018, works at a cafe on the weekends, combining his studies with part-time work. He said he was not interested in politics, but he hoped a candidate who could improve the lives of North Korean people would become President of the United States.
Maeng Hyo-sim said, “Nothing has improved the lives of North Korean residents as a result of the Trump-Kim Jong-un meeting,” and recalled, “At first, I was hoping that the ROK-US summit would bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, but in the end, it was just a hope.”
He said, “As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I think Harris, who values the ROK-US alliance and diplomatic cooperation, is a better choice for Korea,” and added, “Trump is trying to increase Korea’s share of defense costs, so it will put a burden on Korea.”
Mr. Maeng has a dream to become a teacher who teaches Korean to foreigners. In addition to studying and working part-time, Maeng is also involved in activities to improve the human rights of people with disabilities living in North Korea.
When asked by a reporter whether it was difficult to do many things together, he said, “Considering the suffering that North Korean people are suffering, this is not difficult.” He added, “An international leader who can solve the North Korean human rights issue as soon as possible should become the President of the United States.” emphasized.
