michaelfosterfromku

No, they don't. Defectors quickly come to love America and Americans, although one defector whom I met lived in Atlanta for a few months and said that he was terrified because there were so many black people.

I met them in 2010-2011. And they know now how weak their military is--and had an idea of how much wealthier and more powerful the rest of the country was even before they left.

Racism is always internally inconsistent.

It's difficult to know how many want to--the ones who can desert the most easily are the ones whose families are deep in North Korea and will be imprisoned/executed if the soldiers defect.

I was told that, from the mid-2000's onwards, senior military were looking the other way more and more at small transgressions. It used to be that if you weren't at your post on time you'd go to jail, but a lot of soldiers on the north border with China would have secret meeting places where they would pick up contraband from China (DVDs from South Korea, food, that kind of thing). Their supervisors allow them to get and disseminate this contraband more often, with of course a kickback in most cases.

1. Well, I spoke to defectors who obvious see North Korea as being oppressed by a cruel, criminal government.

2. All soldiers are conscripts; in North and South Korea all men are required to go to military service. In South Korea the term is (I think) 18 months. In North Korea, it's 10 years.

3. They were well educated and intelligent, but I imagine the cream of the crop escape. The biggest problem was language; I don't speak Korean and their English was rudimentary at best.