A second wave of North Korean defectors arrived in the capital Wednesday, bringing the total in a two-day airlift from an unidentified Asian country to nearly 460, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. It was easily the largest group of defectors ever to reach the South. All had recently fled the communist North and taken refuge in hopes of eventually reaching South Korea. Wednesday's group of 227 North Koreans arrived at Incheon International Airport on a chartered Korean Air plane arranged by the South Korean government. South Korean government officials have been reluctant to confirm the arrival of the North Koreans and have declined to reveal which country they are coming from, but news reports said that 230 arrived Tuesday.
A trickle of defectors to the South has grown into a steady stream in recent years as more North Koreans flee hunger and repression in their communist country, mostly fleeing across its long border with China before heading to other countries. Human rights groups have said that hundreds of North Koreans were living in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries, and were eager to travel to South Korea. |