Tens of thousands of families remain divided by the heavily militarized border between North and South Korea. But for many, separation is not the result of war—it is the direct outcome of the regime’s internal policies, including political purges, prison camp detentions, and punishment by association.
Ji-hyun, a defector who escaped North Korea in 2017, still doesn’t know if her husband and two children are alive. “The moment I crossed the border, I became a criminal,” she said. “They punished my family for what I did. That’s the price you pay for trying to be free.”
North Korea enforces a policy known as yeon-jwa-je, or "guilt by association," where entire families can be imprisoned or exiled for the alleged crimes of one member. Children born into such families often spend their lives in remote political prison camps with no knowledge of the outside world.
“These are not just cases of political suppression. They’re systemic efforts to destroy the idea of personal identity, community, and family,” said Dr. Sung-Ho Lee, a researcher at the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul.
The division of families is compounded by the regime’s near-total isolation. Letters, phone calls, and visits are prohibited. Even brief contact with relatives abroad—through smuggled phones or brokers in China—can result in arrest, torture, or execution.
One defector recalled how her brother was taken from their home in the middle of the night by security agents. He had been accused of listening to foreign radio broadcasts. “We never saw him again. My parents were interrogated and sent away. I was 14,” she said.
The South Korean government estimates that nearly 1,000,000 individuals were separated during the Korean War. While some have been briefly reunited through official inter-Korean reunion events, the vast majority die without ever seeing their loved ones again. The last such event was held in 2018. Since then, diplomatic talks have stalled, and North Korea has rejected further humanitarian engagement.
International human rights advocates are urging global attention not only to nuclear security issues, but also to the devastating social impact of the regime’s domestic policies.
“North Korea’s oppression goes beyond its borders—it tears families apart and leaves wounds that span generations,” said Joanna Hosaniak, deputy director of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights.
For defectors who resettle in South Korea or third countries, the trauma of separation often lingers for a lifetime.
“I have freedom now,” said Ji-hyun, “but every day I wonder if my children are still alive. I carry that pain with me wherever I go.”