North Korean loggers who escaped from timber camps in Siberia are facing the same reality. They wander around Russia like lost children with no one to take care of them. They are abandoned by their mother country and ignored by employers in Russia. They are constantly uneasy, fearing capture at any moment.

Three former loggers are gathered for a small party. They are making end meet by working at construction sites.

On Oct. 28, 2007, we met Shin Dong-hoon and Park Kun-soon in Moscow, who escaped a timber camp in Tynda six years ago and became guards at a cemetery. From the same hometown, the men became as close as real brothers. Despite living a miserable life of poverty, they had no regrets.

"Regrets for what?" asked Shin. "If we were still there, we’d be dead by now." Park added, "Logging was darn brutal! You'd shed tears if you witnessed the conditions in timber camps for yourself."

Oh Ul-seop, whom we met the previous day, fled from his timber camp 10 years ago. The Korean Embassy in Moscow recently approved his entrance to Korea. However, he was still not completely happy. Yula, his wife, was refusing to join him in Seoul, saying, "I like Russia. After all, it is where I was born?" Although they didn’t have much money, they were happy together. "Just because I am a North Korean refugee, we are forced apart," said Oh.

Oh was working on an apartment construction site with a friend from the same timber camp. They could not secure stable jobs due to their illegal status. Working the entire month paid them 22,000 rubles (approximately US$1,000). Oh wanted to send money to his wife in North Korea, but that was just another dream for a fugitive like him. "The police often catch us. And we have to bribe them at least 20,000 rubles each time, because we don't have proper ID cards," said Oh. That meant a full month's earnings went straight into a policeman's pocket.

Oh's friend, Kim Young-ho, set up a camp on the corner of a stinky construction site, with a small gas stove and worn-out blanket as his only household items. When we asked how he could live there, he answered without emotion, "It is still better than Pyongyang."

On Oct. 30, 2007, we met another former logger, Choi In-ho, who also escaped from a timber camp, in Novosibirsk. He was separated from his Russian wife, who did not trust him due to his illegal status. When we went to the construction site where he was working, he was already drunk and said that seeing us made him homesick.

"Why did you run away from a timber camp. If you hadn't, you could have returned home?" we asked. "If they paid me just 10 percent of my earnings, I wouldn't have run away," he replied. "My mother country abandoned me. Why should I put up with that?"

The reason behind the flight of these North Korean loggers was simple. They received brutal treatment with no payment.

Lee Min-ho, who we met on Nov. 6, 2007 in Habarovsk, has been married five times; once in North Korea, the remainder in Russia. "I am not a playboy. We need to register for residency in Russia. Otherwise we get caught immediately and face the consequences," said Lee. "If you want to survive, you need a Russian woman."

He thought back to his third marriage 14 years ago when he moved into a remote town called Tubara after escaping from a timber camp. He started his business there and bought the identity of a deceased Russian. He worked hard, sleeping an average of only four hours. He bought two houses and his own car and also met a wife.

As his fortune grew, his wife informed the police of his forged identity and an illegal residence. The police broke in at dawn. Lee swore at her, "Is money more important than your husband?"

All his money went to his wife and Lee fled once again from the police. After that, he married twice more for survival. However, the same betrayals robbed him of his savings. "There is no way of expressing how hurtful it was. But who can we complain to? We are just like orphans," Lee said.

We asked him again. "Do you want to go to South Korea?" "I tried twice to get into the Korean Embassy in Moscow, and got caught both times." He said. "After that, my wife refused to trust me. I just want to live in peace." The 47-year-old man who left his hometown 14 years ago was finally attempting to forget his mother country.