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Letters | Deaths of North Korean mother and son in the wealthy South should be a wake-up call for Seoul
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The deaths of a woman and her six-year old son are shocking reminders that North Korean defectors are unsafe, even in Seoul (“Deaths of destitute North Korean mother and child spark national soul-searching in wealthy South Korea”, August 17). That Han Sung-ok had escaped a famine and almost certain death in her homeland, only to starve to death in the midst of prosperity, is particularly disconcerting.
Another North Korean refugee is quoted in The New York Times as saying, “She died not because she didn’t have any food, but because she had no hope.” Whatever the case, they died alone.
The case should be a wake-up call to the South Korean government that the 31,000 North Korean refugees in the South cannot afford to fend for themselves. It’s little wonder the deaths of Ms Han and her son are unsettling to other North Koreans who have fled to the south for refuge.
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Brian Stuckey, Denver, US
The Australian PM doesn’t speak for this Australian
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