North Korean restaurant worker defected to South Korea

Three North Korean female employees escaped from a restaurant in China, then went to Thailand and are waiting to be flown to South Korea.

Three North Korean female employees perform at a restaurant in China's border city of Dandong. Photo: AFP

Three female employees in their 20s have fled a North Korean restaurant in China’s Shaanxi Province, Yonhap reported. They are making their way to Thailand and are expected to arrive in Seoul this week. This is the second defection of North Korean restaurant employees abroad. In April, a male manager led 12 female employees to escape from a North Korean restaurant in China’s Zhejiang Province to South Korea.

Both groups of defectors said they were under pressure to earn foreign currency for the government. On May 24, the South Korean government confirmed that “some North Korean employees” had defected, but did not disclose details, citing the defectors’ safety and diplomatic repercussions.

In the case of 13 defectors in April, Pyongyang accused Seoul of kidnapping its citizens, but South Korea said the employees defected voluntarily. North Korean restaurants abroad are considered an important source of foreign currency for Pyongyang.

North Korea is under the toughest sanctions ever imposed after its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches in January and February. According to South Korean estimates, North Korea now has 130 restaurants operating in 12 countries, bringing in $10 million a year.

According to VNE