So many people have defected from North Korea that the government is now building a wall along the Chinese border. This exclusive report follows one family’s dangerous exodus.

At a safe house in China, a brother and sister collapse into each other arms. For months, ‘Uncle Jung’ has been trying to smuggle his sister and her family out of North Korea. Today, they crossed the Tumen river into China. “We wanted to wait for darkness but were afraid the guards would find us”, explains Park Myong Kwan. “So we just jumped into the river”. One risky journey may have ended for the Park family but another is just beginning. China regularly returns refugees to North Korea where they face almost certain execution. In contrast, Thailand deports immigrants to South Korea. Over the next week, the Parks will travel by any means possible to the Lao border, a journey of 4,000 miles. They don’t speak Chinese and don’t have any documents. “We feel like we’re lying on a chopping board right now”, confides Park Myong Kwan. “It’s like we’re gambling but the stakes are our lives”. But for them, the gamble pays off. They make it to Thailand before being arrested. In a few months, they will be flown to South Korea, where they can build a new life.

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