National and international legal concerns regarding recent North Korean escapees

The sudden increase of North Korean escapees has become an important legal and policy question among the States concerned, including China, Russia, North and South Korea. This is closely interrelated with domestic and international legal and policy concerns. The most critical problems are who governs and how to control the issues. This paper examines national and international legal and policy concerns regarding these problems as they now stand in 2001. In order to find and develop legal and policy measures, the author considers the international legal status of North Korean escapees, and the national and international legal regime governing the matter of North Korean escapees. South Korean and international legal and policy instruments are also reviewed. The last section, analyses international legal principles on the jurisdiction over North Korean escapees in a third country, asking which country has the primary right to grant asylum to the escapees from North Korea, and how should they be protected under a national and an international legal framework.