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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Audrey Liza M. Nolasco

North Korean Defections Hit New Low as Kim Jong Un's Crackdown Makes Escape 'Currently Impossible'

North Korean defections plunge to a new low as Kim Jong Un’s tightening crackdown makes escape increasingly difficult (Credit: Kremlin.ru/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Inside North Korea, South Korean dramas can be as dangerous as they are irresistible. People secretly watch shows smuggled across the border, while Kim Jong Un's regime tightens the laws, surveillance and punishments designed to keep foreign culture out.

'Everyone knows everyone watches,' one North Korean escapee told Amnesty International, describing a country where workers, party officials, security agents and police can all consume South Korean entertainment despite the crackdown.

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