“Oh, first of all, I think the only change in North Korea could be made upon educating the North Korean people.”
— Thae Yong-ho

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Following World War II Korea divided. The Soviet Union took control of northern Korea, and the United States took control of the south.

With the onset of the cold war, negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States design to unify Korea broke down, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was born.

Since the inception of the People's Republic of Korea, the people of North Korea have defected for political, religious or economic reasons. An estimated 100-300 thousand North Koreans have defected, primarily using China as an escape route. If caught, they face deportation back, the possibility of execution and their entire families sent to labour camps.

North Korea's most senior defector is Thae Yong-ho, formerly the Minister of North Korean Embassy in London. In 2016 Mr Thae made the dangerous and challenging decision to defect to South Korea.

In this interview, I talk with Mr. Thae about life in North Korea, his defection to South Korea, the risks, the lack of contact with his family and how getting information of Western culture to the North Korean youth may trigger a revolution.

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Show notes and transcription:
https://www.defiance.news/podcast/escaping-north-korea-thae-yong-ho

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Show intro
00:01:41 - Welcoming Mr. Thae to the show
00:03:16 - Working for the North Korean regime
00:07:58 - Adjustment to Western life in Denmark
00:09:25 - North Korean class system
00:11:22 - Defecting to South Korea
00:19:41 - Assassination of Kim Jong-nam
00:24:03 - Relationship with Donald Trump
00:30:04 - Labor camps in Russia
00:31:32 - Goals for change in North Korea
00:34:16 - Reunification with the South
00:36:00 - How pop culture can trigger a revolution
00:38:43 - Black markets in North Korea
00:42:46 - Mobile phones
00:44:07 - Kim Jong-un's Achilles' heel
00:46:05 - Tourism in North Korea
00:47:36 - How the international community can help

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