North Koreans overstaying their legal visas in China are in danger of being arrested by North Korean authorities in China as the regime attempts to crack down on those that do. The Daily NK reports that approximately 50 agents have been dispatched to China to locate those who have overstayed their visas.
A source in China stated that there are a lot more North Koreans staying past their visas in an attempt to earn money. The source said that the team of agents was sent to Dandong and Shenyang, two popular cities for North Koreans to go to. While a team from the NSA to tackle the ‘problem’ is not unusual, the sheer scale of the operation is, with the Daily NK’s source stating, “Just now the number of non-returnees is growing, so they sent over a larger team this time.”
A second source said the reason for overstaying was because of the chance to earn money. The visitors stay with relatives, but the relatives themselves are often having financial problems. The source said, “Many of the families aren’t having a good time of it, either, so it is not always easy to get that help. That's why many of them end up overstaying their visas in order to get money.” The visas to travel cost money and the source explained that that is often a reason for overstaying as the visitors want to recoup the cost of the visa.
The attempts by the regime to repatriate people who have overstayed have seen at least four people deported.
Source: the Daily NK
