Why its impossible to Escape from North Korea

In this jeep sits a North Korean soldier who, fed up with Kim Jong-un’s policies, is speeding toward the border in an attempt to cross it. He knows very well that he’ll either be killed or at the very least badly injured. So, what desperate situation has pushed him to take such a drastic step? We'll get to that in a moment.

But first, why is North Korea considered the world’s largest prison, and why is escaping from there considered nearly impossible?

Welcome once again to JAM TV’s video. In North Korea, leaving the country without permission is considered treason by Kim Jong-un. The punishment for this crime is life imprisonment at minimum, or execution at worst.

Even traveling within North Korea, from one province to another without government permission, is illegal.

Most organizations agree that North Korea has the worst human rights record in the world. Every man is compulsorily enlisted in the military for at least 10 years. There's no such thing as free speech, and all media is state-controlled.

It's the only country in the world where people can be punished for the crimes of their relatives. In 2009, even a 2-year-old child was sentenced to life imprisonment because a Bible was found with his parents — following any religion is considered a crime in North Korea.

Foreigners are rarely allowed in. And if they are, they are constantly monitored throughout their trip, only shown what the regime wants them to see.

Sometimes, foreigners are even killed for breaking local laws — like Otto Warmbier, a U.S. citizen who visited North Korea in 2015. He was arrested in 2016 for allegedly removing a government propaganda poster from his hotel room. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Within a year, he fell into a coma inside a prison camp, was returned to the U.S., and died shortly after from brain injuries.

What happened to him in that prison still remains a mystery.

This is why North Korea is seen as a giant prison, where people live as slaves despite being "free." Citizens constantly attempt to flee the country, but it’s not easy.

The Geographical Trap

• West: Yellow Sea
• East: Sea of Japan – heavily patrolled by North Korean navy
• South: South Korea – heavily guarded due to hostility

The only viable option for defectors is South Korea, not just because it's developed and free, but because South Korea considers all North Koreans as their own citizens. If someone successfully crosses the border, their life could completely change — but only if they survive.

North Korea has stationed 750,000 soldiers on the border with barbed wire fences and landmines. In this 2017 video, a North Korean soldier drives his jeep toward the South Korean border. Border guards open fire, but he runs, wounded, across the line. South Korean soldiers drag him to safety.

Many civilians have also attempted this, but most are shot dead on the spot or die shortly after reaching South Korea due to bullet wounds.

Escaping directly across the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is like inviting death.

The Northern Route: Through China and Russia

• North Korea’s northern border touches China and a small part of Russia.
• This route is less heavily guarded, but still extremely dangerous due to mountains, forests, and rivers.
• Most defectors attempt to cross during winter (when rivers freeze) or summer (when water levels are low).

But even after reaching China or Russia, the danger isn't over. Due to military alliances, defectors are often returned to North Korea where they face torture or execution.

Hence, defectors must escape further to Thailand, Vietnam, or Mongolia — safer countries that send defectors to South Korea, not back to North Korea.

The Risk and the Decline

Since 1990, around 34,000 North Koreans have successfully defected to the South.

• The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ended North Korea's support.
• Sanctions and famine killed an estimated 3.5 million people.
• The number of defectors peaked in 2009 at over 3,000 per year.

But in 2012, Kim Jong-un came to power and tightened the borders.

• Installed signal jammers,
• Increased military patrols,
• Put up fences,
• Made deals with China and Russia to catch defectors,
• Chinese brokers helping defectors raised their prices from $2,000 to $10,000 — unaffordable for most North Koreans.

In 2019, only 1,000 people managed to escape.

COVID-19: The Final Lockdown

When COVID-19 emerged in China, North Korea completely sealed its borders, becoming the first country to do so.

With no healthcare system and widespread malnutrition, North Korea feared even a single case of the virus.

In August 2020, soldiers were given "shoot-to-kill" orders for anyone approaching the northern border.

As a result, in recent years, the number of successful escapes is near zero, and North Korea has become an even larger, more isolated prison.

People cannot follow religion, they cannot contact the outside world. The world watches, but can do little, because North Korea has nuclear weapons, a gift from the former Soviet Union. Even the U.S. can do little more than issue sanctions.