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Thirteen North Koreans defect from overseas restaurant | Thirteen North Koreans defect from overseas restaurant |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Thirteen North Koreans working at the same restaurant abroad have defected to South Korea, Seoul officials say. | Thirteen North Koreans working at the same restaurant abroad have defected to South Korea, Seoul officials say. |
People have defected from North Korean restaurants overseas before but this is the first mass escape from the same one, a South Korean official said. | People have defected from North Korean restaurants overseas before but this is the first mass escape from the same one, a South Korean official said. |
Overseas North Korean workers are usually thought to be chosen largely because of their loyalty. | Overseas North Korean workers are usually thought to be chosen largely because of their loyalty. |
North Korean defections are a bitter point of contention between the two Koreas. | North Korean defections are a bitter point of contention between the two Koreas. |
Pyongyang has accused Seoul of enticing North Korean citizens to defect, something Seoul denies. | Pyongyang has accused Seoul of enticing North Korean citizens to defect, something Seoul denies. |
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee said one man and 12 women arrived in the South on Thursday. | South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee said one man and 12 women arrived in the South on Thursday. |
Mr Jeong did not reveal where they were working to avoid causing diplomatic rifts or endangering North Koreans still working in the country. | Mr Jeong did not reveal where they were working to avoid causing diplomatic rifts or endangering North Koreans still working in the country. |
According to a staff member at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Danang, Vietnam, a North Korean restaurant there recently closed down and all staff left the country, the Associated Press reported. | |
It could not confirm a link to the defections. | |
North Korea is reported to run an estimated 130 restaurants in other countries, primarily in Asia, providing essential hard currency for the regime. | |
Seoul believes the restaurants have been struggling since new sanctions were applied on Pyongyang following a recent nuclear test. | |
The defectors said they learned about the South by watching South Korean TV dramas online and began to distrust North Korean propaganda, Mr Jeong said. | The defectors said they learned about the South by watching South Korean TV dramas online and began to distrust North Korean propaganda, Mr Jeong said. |
The Unification Ministry's website says more than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea as of March. | The Unification Ministry's website says more than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea as of March. |
North Korea's restaurant empire | |
Where are they? | |
Where does the money go? | |
Who are the staff and how are they treated? |