SEOUL: In 1999, a group of seven North Koreans fleeing their country was intercepted in Russia. The Russian authorities, rejecting appeals from the United Nations and human rights groups, sent them to China. China returned them to North Korea.

In the ensuing uproar in South Korea over the government’s failure to rescue them, the foreign minister had to step down. And then, the seven were largely forgotten. Those who remember them may have recalled their frightened faces on Russian television, where they said they feared death if sent back to their Communist homeland.

Now, two of them have escaped again and arrived in South Korea, contradicting what the North Korean government told United Nations officials about the group’s fate - that most had been returned to their homes and jobs. One brought with him accounts of life and death at North Korea’s infamous prison camp No. 15, known to the outside world as Yodok.

One reads this story and wonders, are things better now than it was in 1999? I’d say yes, but change has been glacial at best.

Press release and report (.pdf)

This is the updated 2007 report to Congress. My biggest interest is the number of refugees that have settled in the US, which is 30. A bit disappointing, but it does include some points that looks awfully familiar

The Special Envoy has noted that the coming of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing provides an opportunity to focus attention on the large population of North Korean refugees in China and on China’s refusal to abide by its international obligations in regard to this vulnerable group. The Special Envoy has pointed out that this is an issue of considerable importance to the U.S., and we expect that before and during the Games this will come to the attention of the international media and others around the world.

This situation causes some refugees to flee onward to countries throughout the region, which places a considerable burden on those countries. The Special Envoy has conveyed our willingness to assist these countries and consider North Koreans there for refugee resettlement in the U.S. We have urged host governments to refrain from forcibly repatriating these refugees to North Korea.

The Special Envoy has sought to assist grant-issuing bureaus within the Department in identifying organizations willing to help North Korean refugees. These organizations include charities willing to shelter and assist the large North Korean refugee diaspora. Other local organizations have asked to assist North Korean refugees admitted to the U.S. as they acclimate to life in America.

Exploiting China’s need for a positive image during the Olympics and assisting 3rd countries holding refugees are great ideas, but will the government actually act? After all, this issue has no political appeal, nor does it have Hollywood status like Darfur. Even with such high priority, has the genocide in Darfur ended?

So I believe we have been successful in getting people to listen to what we have to say. But now is the hard part, getting them to do something.