Concern mounts for Iranian climber who competed without hijab

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart Williams, October 18, 2022 

Alarm grew on Tuesday over the wellbeing of Iranian sports climber Elnaz Rekabi after she competed at an event in South Korea without a hijab in what some saw as a gesture of solidarity with the women-led protests at home. 

Rekabi, 33, in her first comment since the event on Sunday apologised on Instagram for the "concerns" caused and insisted that her bare-headed appearance had been "unintentional". 

She had come fourth representing Iran in the boulder and lead combined event at the Asian Championships in Seoul. 

In the initial bouldering discipline her head was covered with a bandana but in the later lead climbing, scaling a high wall with a rope, she wore only a headband, the stream posted by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) showed. 

This was in breach of the Islamic republic's mandatory dress rules of compulsory headscarf for women which also apply to all female athletes, even when competing abroad. 

The gesture came one month into protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by Tehran police for allegedly violating the dress rules, which have transformed into a movement against the obligatory hijab and the Islamic republic itself. 

Supporters of the protests on social media described Rekabi as a "hero", posting images of her climbing up the letters of the protest slogan "Woman. Life. Freedom." 

Nothing had been heard since the event from Rekabi until a story was published Tuesday morning on her Instagram account where she has over 200,000 followers. 

"I firstly apologise for all the concerns I have caused," the statement said. 

Due to the timing and sudden call to begin the climb "my hijab unintentionally became problematic", it said. 

"I am currently on my way back to Iran alongside the team based on the pre-scheduled timetable," it added. 

Pressure in Seoul

However, there was alarm over under what circumstances the statement had emerged after unconfirmed reports suggested she had been pressured by Iranian officials in South Korea. 

BBC Persian quoted an unnamed source as saying that friends had been unable to contact her and the team had left their hotel on Seoul on Monday, earlier than the scheduled departure date of Wednesday. 

It said her mobile phone and passport had been taken from her. 

Meanwhile news website Iran Wire reported that the head of Iran's climbing federation had "tricked" her into entering the Iranian embassy in Seoul and that she would then be taken directly to the airport. 

It said the federation chief had promised her safe passage to Iran if she handed over her phone and passport. 

The Iranian embassy in Seoul, however, issued a statement to AFP denying "all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding" her situation and adding Rekabi had left South Korea along with her teammates on Tuesday.

 The spokesperson for the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said the UN was "aware" of the case and concerns were being raised with the Iranian authorities. 

"Women should never be prosecuted for what they wear. They should never be subjected to violations such as arbitrary detention or any kind of violence with regards to what they wear," she said in Geneva. 

"We will be following this case very closely." 

Taboo-breaking

Rekabi is believed to be the second Iranian woman to have appeared in competition without a headscarf after boxer Sadaf Khadem appeared bare-headed in a bout in France in 2019. Khadem did not return to Iran and now lives in exile in France. 

Sport has become a hugely sensitive arena during the protests, with several prominent Iranian female athletes expressing support for women's rights. 

Famous footballers have also been caught up in the crackdown with former international player Hossein Mahini arrested and the world's ex-top scorer Ali Daei having his passport confiscated. Daei's document was returned while Mahini was reportedly freed on bail. 

Iran's Fars news agency, which reflects hardline views, published an editorial Tuesday critical of Rekabi but avoided mentioning her by name. 

It asked why "Western, Zionist and Saudi" media had not paid attention to victories by Iranian women wearing headscarves in the last days in athletics and weightlifting but instead "highlighted the performance of a girl with unconventional behaviour". 

Rights groups have long accused Iran of pressuring people deemed to have violated its laws into so-called confessions either on television or social media.

Pope Francis asks North Korea to invite him to visit

Yahoo – AFP, August 26, 2022 

Pope Francis has asked Pyongyang to invite him to North Korea, saying in a televised interview on Friday that he would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace. 

A potential papal visit to the isolated, nuclear-armed country was previously floated in 2018 when Seoul's former president Moon Jae-in embarked on a round of diplomacy with Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un. 

Moon, who is Catholic, said during a summit that Kim told him the pontiff would be "enthusiastically" welcomed. 

Pope Francis replied at the time that he would be willing to go if he received an official invitation. 

But Pyongyang has largely cut off contact with Seoul following the collapse of a second summit between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump in 2019, which has left talks at a standstill. 

"When they invite me -- that is to say, please invite me -- I won't say no," Pope Francis told South Korea's state broadcaster KBS in an interview that aired Friday. 

"The goal is simply fraternity," he added. 

Ties between North and South Korea have been at a frosty low since Seoul inaugurated a hawkish new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, in May. 

Yoon offered aid to the North in return for denuclearisation, but Kim's regime ridiculed the plan. 

The North blamed South Korea for its May outbreak of Covid-19 and earlier this month threatened to "wipe out" Seoul's authorities in retaliation. 

North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017. 

'Work for peace'

The pope has repeatedly urged Koreans on the peninsula to "work for peace." 

"You, the Korean people, have suffered from the war," he said. 

Religious freedom is enshrined in the North's constitution, but all religious activity is banned outside of state-sanctioned institutions. 

In the early 20th century, before the division of the peninsula, Pyongyang was a regional missionary hub with scores of churches and a thriving Christian community that earned it the title "Jerusalem of the East". 

But Kim Il Sung, the North's late founding leader and the current ruler's grandfather, viewed Christianity as a threat and eradicated it through executions and labour camps. 

The North's regime has since allowed Catholic organisations to run aid projects, but direct relations with the Vatican are non-existent. 

When Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, he held a special mass dedicated to the reunification of the two Koreas.

North Korea says no need for talks with US

Asiatimes – AFP, July 4, 2020

Dialogue nothing more than a tool for US grappling with political crisis, North's vice foreign minister says

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said 'the US is mistaken
if it thinks things like negotiations would still work on us'. Photo: AFP

North Korea does “not feel any need” to resume talks with Washington, a senior diplomat for the country said Saturday, days after Seoul called for a summit as it seeks improved ties with Pyongyang.

The statement by the North’s vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui came after former US national security advisor John Bolton on Thursday reportedly said President Donald Trump might pursue another meeting with leader Kim Jong Un in October.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in – who has long backed engagement with the North – on Tuesday also called for another meeting between Kim and Trump, saying the South would be making “utmost efforts” to make it happen.

But Pyongyang does “not feel any need to sit face to face with the US”, Choe said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“Dreamers” had been raising hopes of an “October surprise”, she added.

“The US is mistaken if it thinks things like negotiations would still work on us,” Choe said.

Washington “does not consider the DPRK-US dialogue as nothing more than a tool for grappling (with) its political crisis”, Choe added, using the North’s official name.

Bolton had reportedly said Trump would meet with Kim if it would help his re-election chances.

The North has “already worked out a detailed strategic timetable” to deal with the “long-term threat” from Washington, Choe said.

Talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal have been stalled since a Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim collapsed in early 2019 over what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.

Recent reports have said US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is due to visit Seoul next week to discuss talks with North Korea, although the South’s foreign ministry has not confirmed the trip.

Last month Pyongyang issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of the South over anti-North leaflets that defectors send back across the militarised border – usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles.

It also upped the pressure by blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office and threatening military measures against Seoul but last week said it had suspended those plans in an apparent sudden dialling down of tensions.

Choe’s statement comes a day after Seoul’s presidential Blue House appointed as its new spy chief a former lawmaker who played a crucial role in organising the first inter-Korean summit back in 2000.

The move is widely seen as a sign of Moon’s determination to maintain pro-engagement policies despite the North’s abandonment of its nuclear and missile test moratoriums.

S. Korea deploys mobile data, police to tackle nightlife cluster

Yahoo – AFP, May 12, 2020

Many nightclub customers are believed to be reluctant to come forward because of the
stigma surrounding homosexuality in the socially conservative country (AFP Photo/
Jung Yeon-je)

South Korean authorities said Tuesday they were using mobile phone data to trace Seoul nightclub visitors as they try to tackle a coronavirus cluster, promising anonymity to those being tested due to the stigma surrounding homosexuality.

The country has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus, but a spike of new cases, driven by the cluster in venues in Seoul's Itaewon district -- including several gay clubs -- forced authorities to delay this week's planned re-opening of schools.

Many nightclub customers are believed to be reluctant to come forward because of the stigma surrounding homosexuality in the socially conservative country.

Seoul, as well as its neighbouring Gyeonggi province and the nearby city of Incheon, and the southern city of Daegu, have ordered the closure of all clubs and bars.

South Korea's handling of the initial coronavirus outbreak was widely praised, and how it deals with this latest spike will be closely watched as parts of Europe begin a cautious re-opening, where health experts are warning that moving too quickly will result in a surge in infection numbers.

Officials in the east Asian nation of 52 million announced 27 new cases Tuesday, taking its total to 10,936, after recording only single-digit increases for eight of the preceding 13 days -- many of them overseas arrivals.

As of noon Tuesday, 102 cases had been linked to the Itaewon cluster, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, up 16 in 24 hours, and the vast majority were men in their 20s and 30s.

Text messages

The city government of Seoul secured a list of 10,905 people who visited the district through data provided by mobile operators and has sent text messages asking them to get tested, said Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.

The Korea Disaster Management Headquarters said nearly 2,000 people believed to have visited the clubs are currently unreachable, and thousands of police will be deployed to track them down.

Many nightclub customers are believed to be reluctant to come forward because 

of the stigma surrounding homosexuality in the socially conservative country (AFP 

Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

"The National Police Agency has established an operation system with 8,559 officers... to track down who cannot be identified through credit card information or data provided by mobile operators," said Yoon Tae-ho, the director of KDMH.

More than 7,000 people who have visited the area over the past two weeks have been tested, said Mayor Park -- who on Monday announced a 2 million won ($1,630) fine for those who avoid testing.

Test rates doubled after the city said it will ensure people's privacy by introducing anonymous testing, he added, but authorities still need more visitors to come forward.

People in face masks lined up for tests at a health centre in Itaewon Tuesday, keeping at least one metre (three feet) apart.

"A large number of confirmed cases were discovered in the Itaewon district, and since I live in the area I came to get tested just in case," Jeon Seung-ho, a 25-year-old musician, told AFP.

"I believe that the government should have encouraged the clubs to close down in the first place," he added.

Former K-pop star Park Gyuri admitted visiting one of the Itaewon clubs in early May and apologised for not following social distancing rules.

She tested negative but remains in self-isolation, her agency said in a statement.

Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, but rights groups say intolerance remains rampant.

KCDC vice director Kwon Joon-wook said "prejudice and discrimination" only impede prevention activities, urging the public not to blame virus patients.

Ex-North Korean diplomat wins parliamentary seat in South

Yahoo – AFP, April 16, 2020

Defector and former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho celebrates his election
in the Gangnam constituency on behalf of the conservative United Future Party
(AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

A former senior North Korean diplomat won a parliamentary seat in Seoul Thursday, becoming the first defector to be directly elected by South Korean voters.

Thae Yong Ho, who was Pyongyang's deputy ambassador to London before fleeing to the democratic South in 2016, shed a tear as he sang South Korea's national anthem after his win was confirmed in the early hours.

He stood for the main conservative opposition United Future Party (UFP) and took 58.4 percent of the vote in his Gangnam constituency, the wealthy Seoul district made famous by rapper Psy.

"Today is a very historic day not only for me but also for the history of Korea," Thae told AFP shortly after his victory was announced.

Officially he ran as Tae Ku-Min -– a pseudonym he registered under on arrival in the South to initially make it harder for Pyongyang's agents to track him down.

Thae comes from a family with good revolutionary credentials, but fled his post in London in August 2016 after becoming disillusioned with Kim Jong Un's regime.

He has since become a prominent and outspoken critic of Pyongyang and the engagement approach pursued by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Moon's Democratic party secured the largest absolute majority in the National Assembly since the advent of democracy in 1987, on a turnout of 66.2 percent -- the highest at a parliamentary election for 28 years.

Thae said his victory will give hope to the North Korean people and the elite, and demonstrate the "real nature of free democracy of South Korea".

His election could be a window to enable North Koreans to "understand how free and democratic election would go", he said.

North Korea holds an election every five years for its rubber-stamp legislature, known as the Supreme People's Assembly, but the ballot papers for the vote each only have one name.

"One day in the future I'm sure North Korean people will adopt the same method of election process in North Korea," Thae told AFP in an interview during his campaign.

Ji Seong-ho, the crutch-wielding defector hailed by US President Donald Trump in his 2018 State of the Union address, won a proportional representation seat for the UFP in Wednesday's vote.

About 33,000 North Koreans have fled to the South in the past two decades, but it is rare for high-level officials to defect.

The North's state media has denounced Thae as "human scum" and accused him of embezzling state funds, raping a minor and spying for South Korea in exchange for money.

South Korea hails top prize for 'Parasite' at Oscars

Yahoo – AFP, February 10, 2020

A man walks past a screen showing a poster of Bong Joon-ho's film 'Parasite'
at a cinema in Seoul on the day the movie won the Oscar for best picture
(AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

Seoul (AFP) - South Koreans reacted with joy and stunned disbelief Monday to the historic best picture Oscar for "Parasite", with one film fan suggesting the feat should be recognised with a public holiday.

Director Bong Joon-ho's movie -- about the widening gap between rich and poor -- became the first non-English-language film to win Hollywood's biggest prize, prompting celebrations in South Korea.

Even President Moon Jae-in got in on the act, saying he was overjoyed to see South Korean cinema receive world recognition.

"I extend my gratitude especially for giving a sense of courage and pride to the (Korean) people," Moon said.

"I am very proud of director Bong Joon-ho and the cast, as well as the staff members."

K-pop supergroup BTS -- who Bong has previously praised -- also joined the congratulations.

"Congratulations so so so so so so very much, director Bong Joon-ho," the members wrote in a tweet.

"Parasite" won four awards -- best picture, best director, best international feature and best original screenplay -- defying the received wisdom that the Academy would overlook a subtitled Asian movie.

South Korean film fans were overjoyed.

"I am in tears," one wrote on Twitter. "I'm so proud of Bong Joon-ho. It's amazing to hear acceptance speeches in Korean."

Another joked: "Shouldn't today be declared a public holiday?"

Along with a congratulatory tweet, US ambassador Harry Harris posted a photo of what looked like jjapaguri -- an instant noodle dish featured in "Parasite", where it was unusually garnished with sirloin steak.

"Wow! Congrats Director Bong, Team #Parasite & ROK cinema!" Harris wrote.

The success of "Parasite" comes despite the global dominance of the English language in the 92-year-history of the Academy Awards.

Actor Sandra Oh, the Canadian-born daughter of South Korean immigrants who was among the award presenters in Los Angeles, tweeted her congratulations, saying: "So so proud to be Korean".

Darcy Paquet, a Seoul-based film critic who wrote the English-language subtitles for "Parasite" said: "I'm so happy... this isn't real."

"I hope that all Korean filmmakers can share in this moment and be proud, because it's the tremendous hard work and professionalism of the industry as a whole that makes a movie like 'Parasite' possible."

South Korean filmmaker and scholar Kim So-young, who introduced Bong's early comedy "Barking Dogs Never Bite" to programmers at San Sebastian Film Festival back in 2000, said the win was "well deserved".

"I've been following his work for the last 20 years, and I can confidently say he is a true artist," she told AFP.

"I'm very happy for him as a fellow cineaste in South Korea, as Bong has always been a respected colleague who always remained a socially conscious, outspoken citizen even outside the film industry."

Shim Woo-hyun, a 31-year-old film fan in Seoul, said: "I heard the news while eating tonkatsu at a food joint, and I was just speechless.

"I screen-captured the news immediately and shared with people through my mobile messenger. I will never forget today's tonkatsu."

North Korea's Kim warns of 'grave' economic challenge

Yahoo – AFP, December 30, 2019

Kim said the time had come to bring about a "decisive turn" in North Korea's
economic development (AFP Photo/STR)

Seoul (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned top ruling party officials of the "grave situation" facing the nuclear-armed state's economy and called for urgent corrective measures.

His comments, reported Monday by state media, came on the second day of a key party meeting held ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks with Pyongyang.

Kim, who chaired the meeting, said the time had come to bring about a "decisive turn" in the North's economic development.

He presented the assembled officials with "tasks for urgently correcting the grave situation of the major industrial sectors of the national economy," the official KCNA news agency reported.

The North does not publish economic statistics of its own, leaving outside estimates as the only available figures for its financial performance.

Kim presented the assembled officials with 'tasks for urgently correcting the grave 

situation of the major industrial sectors of the national economy' (AFP Photo/STR)

In July, the South Korean central bank estimated that the North's sanctions-hit economy had shrunk by 4.1 percent in 2018 -- the largest contractions since the devastating famine of the 1990s.

Talks on denuclearising the Korean peninsula have been largely deadlocked since a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed in Hanoi at the start of this year over what the North was willing to give in return for sanctions relief.

China and Russia -- the North's biggest economic partners -- have proposed the easing of UN sanctions imposed over the North's nuclear weapons programme, and Pyongyang has given Washington until the end of the year to offer fresh concessions.

The KCNA report indicated the plenary session of the party leadership was headed into a third day Monday -- marking the first time since 1990 that it has lasted more than two days.

"Pyongyang's decision to host the plenary event for multiple days illustrates how gravely it views internal and external situations," said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute.

Trump warns Kim has 'everything' to lose through hostility

Yahoo – AFP, December 8, 2019

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump cross south of the
Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, after Trump briefly
stepped over to the northern side, on June 30, 2019 (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

President Donald Trump warned Sunday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un had "everything" to lose through hostility towards the United States, after Pyongyang said it had carried out a major new weapons test.

"Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way," Trump tweeted in response to the unspecified test at the Sohae space launch center.

The announcement of Saturday's test came just hours after Trump said he would be "surprised" by any hostile action from the North, emphasizing his "very good relationship" with Kim.

Trump and Kim engaged in months of mutual insults and threats of devastation in 2017, sending tensions soaring before a diplomatic rapprochement the following year.

The pair have met three times since June 2018 but with little progress towards denuclearization. Pyongyang has set Washington a December 31 deadline to make new concessions to kickstart stalled talks.

"North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, has tremendous economic potential, but it must denuclearize as promised," Trump tweeted. "NATO, China, Russia, Japan, and the entire world is unified on this issue!"

Writing that Kim had "signed a strong Denuclearization Agreement" at their June 2018 summit in Singapore," Trump warned: "He does not want to void his special relationship with the President of the United States or interfere with the U.S. Presidential Election in November."

A spokesman for North Korea's Academy of the National Defense Science said Saturday's "very important test" would have an "important effect" on changing the "strategic position" of North Korea, in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

The statement did not provide further details on the test.

A senior US administration official earlier said Washington had seen reports of a test and was "coordinating closely with allies and partners."

Trump indicated that military action was still possible when he was asked about Pyongyang on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Britain this week.

North Korea fired back that if the United States used military force it would take "prompt corresponding actions at any level."

UN diplomats fear that North Korea will resume long-range nuclear or ballistic tests if no progress is made soon in talks with the United States.

Sohae, on North Korea's northwest coast, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit.

But Pyongyang has carried out several rocket launches there that were condemned by the US and others as disguised long-range ballistic missile tests.

Following the Singapore summit, Trump said Kim had agreed to destroy "a major missile engine testing site" without naming the facility.

Kim then agreed to shutter the Sohae site during a summit last year with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang as part of trust-building measures.

Kim's horseback ride spurs policy shift speculation

Yahoo – AFP, 16 October 2019

Analysts say Kimg Jong Un's horseback hike may signal a new policy direction
for the nuclear-armed North

New pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape to the summit of Mount Paektu, a sacred peak for North Koreans, have fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement.

The images released by the official KCNA news agency were accompanied by a gushing text, that noted the "noble glitters" in Kim's eyes, and labelled his snowy, horseback ride "a great event of weighty importance" for the nation.

Accompanying officials were left convinced that "there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean revolution," the agency said.

Pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape have 

fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement

Analysts said the hike may signal a new policy direction for the nuclear-armed North.

"In the past, Kim has climbed Mount Paektu ahead of major political decisions," said Shin Beom-chul, an analyst at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies.

Kim hiked to the peak in December 2017 before launching diplomatic overtures that led to his first ever summit with US President Donald Trump.

But negotiations have been gridlocked since a second summit between Kim and Trump collapsed in February and the North has been raising tensions through a series of missile tests.

The official KCNA news agency described Kim Jong Un's horseback mountain 

ride as 'a great event of weighty importance' for the nation

The sight of North Korean leaders riding white horses across snow-capped peaks – and in particular Mount Paektu - have been a dominant theme of past photos, posters and portraits of Kim's father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

According to B.R. Myers, a professor at Dongseo University in South Korea who specialises in North Korean propaganda, the images present an imperial motif of a leader protecting the cultural and ideological purity of the nation from corrupt, outside forces.

Kim also visited the site of a giant construction project in nearby Samjiyon county, KCNA reported, and blamed US-led international sanctions for his country's hardships.

Kim Jong Un also visited the site of a giant construction project in Samjiyon 

county, KCNA reported

"The situation of the country is difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and pressure by the hostile forces and there are many hardships and trials facing us," Kim was quoted as saying.

North Korea is under multiple sets of UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes.

Pyongyang and Washington restarted working-level talks this month in Sweden only for it to quickly break down, with the North blaming the US for not giving up its "old attitude".

North Korea tested this month what it said was a submarine-launched ballistic missile that marked a "new phase" in its capabilities -- the most provocative in a series of weapons tests it carried out since 2018.

Moon's posted two pictures of the pooches, one of them showing five furry white 

pups cuddled on Moon's lap with the sixth in the first lady's arms

Related Articles:

Doggy diplomacy: S. Korea unveils newborn Northern pups

Pyongyang gifts dogs to S.Korea's Moon

Two dogs, aged around one year old, were given as a gift to the South
Korean President Moon Jae-in (AFP Photo/Handout)

North Korean defector mothers struggle in South

Channelnewsasia – AFP, 4 Sep 2019

North Korean defector Lim is one of hundreds of North Korean single mothers
in the South, struggling to make ends meet (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

SEOUL: When Lim reached South Korea, she thought she had left behind the miseries of poverty and an unwanted marriage for a better life with her daughter.

She is one of more than 33,000 North Koreans - the vast majority of them women - who have fled to the South from hardship and repression in their homeland, where the Kim dynasty has ruled with an iron fist for three generations and stands accused of widespread human rights abuses.

The transition to a radically different, democratic and capitalist society - while juggling work, school and motherhood - is not easy. "Life in South Korea was the complete opposite of what I had expected," Lim said.

Nine years after arriving she still struggles to make ends meet, one of hundreds of North Korean single mothers in similar situations.

Their plight was highlighted by the case of Han Sung-ok, who had difficulties keeping jobs while caring for her epileptic six-year-old son. Their bodies were found in a Seoul flat two months after they are believed to have died from starvation.

The death of North Korean defector Han Sung-ok and her six-year-old son
sent shockwaves across South Korea (Photo; AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

News of the deaths sent shockwaves across the country last month and triggered an unprecedented campaign by the defector community urging Seoul to overhaul its aid programme for North Korean refugees.

"Han fled North Korea, where scores of people die from starvation, only to starve to death in South Korea," said campaigner Heo Kwang-il.

'VICIOUS CYCLE'

The vast majority of North Korean migrants go first to neighbouring China before making their way to the South.

As the oldest daughter, Lim - who asked to be identified by her surname only - left home at 24 to provide for her family but like many others was trafficked and sold to an abusive Chinese man, with whom she had a child.

After four years of what she described as "imprisonment", Lim ran away with her toddler daughter to Seoul.

At first, she took odd jobs but with no one to help look after her daughter, Lim was forced at one point to put her into care and contemplated suicide, tormented by the guilt of not being able to provide fully for her child or her family in the North.

At times she doubted her decision. "Sometimes, I wanted to go back to North Korea," she told AFP in her tiny flat.

Nowadays, she works as a waitress and is sometimes able to send money to her family in the North via intermediaries, and has no regrets - but it has taken time.

Life in South Korea is riddled with cultural and economic challenges for all new arrivals from its neighbour - the two have been divided since the Korean War fighting stopped in 1953. But single mothers face further complications without a family support network.

"When they have to take care of a child, they end up seeking part-time, unstable jobs," said Kim Sung-kyung, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

"This starts a vicious cycle that holds them back from adjusting financially or finding stability."

'KOREAN DREAM'

The South Korean government provides newly arrived defectors a lump sum of around 8 million won (US$6,600) to help them settle.

They can seek additional aid but some give up, saying the system is too complex - especially if their education in the North has left them with limited literacy.

The transition to South Korea's radically different, democratic and capitalist society
is not easy for North Korean defectors, especially single mothers (Photo: AFP/
Jung Yeon-je)

Media reports say Han had sought help but was turned back by a district official who demanded legal papers to prove her status, which she could not provide.

"People come to the democratic South with the 'Korean Dream'" but many end up suffering from depression and other illnesses, said Lee Na-kyung, a defector activist for single parents and people with disabilities from the North.

Lee arrived with her husband - who has a disability - and their son in 2006 but was soon homeless after spending all their money on medical treatment.

She calls herself a "rare success story", saying her aggressive personality helped her settle in her new home, where she first worked as a gas meter reader and later became a humanities instructor.

The state has a pervasive role in North Korean society, where authorities impose extensive controls over individuals' lives, in marked contrast to the more individualistic South.

Many single mothers who come to the South "have no one to talk to and they feel cut off from the world", Lee said.

"They say even if they were poor in the North, they never felt isolated."