An activist group has released images of a North Korean soldier kicking a defector during interrogation at what it says is a guard post on the Sino-Korean border. Free North Korea Broadcasting on Sunday posted some 14 stills from a video on its website (www.freenk.net) that appear to show a North Korean border trooper abusing the woman, who had apparently hid in China for eight years but was caught when she crossed back into North Korea for business.
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A soldier with a truncheon. An officer stands in the back.
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There are border patrol posts every 5 to 10 li (or about 2.5-5 km) along the border, and unlike defectors deported by China, those caught on the border are interrogated there and then. The group says the video was recorded by a North Korean resident and leaked to the outside. Free North Korea says the camcorder mode was switched to "night," allowing it to capture the relatively vivid footage indoors. The date of filming is shown as Aug. 17, 2005.
The video is about 25 minutes long. The first 10 minutes show the exterior of the border post, while the next 13 minutes show a North Korean soldier interrogating the woman. He appears to force the defector on her knees and asks her name, time of defection, marital and parental status, and whether she met any South Koreans. When she refuses to answer, the soldier wields a truncheon and hits the woman with his hands and kicks her. After the beating, the woman says she lived in China for eight years, has one child and has had no contact with any South Koreans.
A bundle the woman was apparently carrying when she was caught contains Chinese currency, alcohol, cigarettes and adult CDs. The woman explained she brought the CDs not to sell but to hire out.
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A soldier kicks the woman.
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The tape will reportedly be released by a Japanese broadcaster next month.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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