N. Korea expels defectors` families to remote areas

North Korea has reportedly begun a massive resettlement of residents with ties to South Korea, NK Intellectuals’ Solidarity, a group of North Korean defectors, said Monday.

Pyongyang is known to have ordered residents in Ryanggang Province who have relatives in South Korea or relatives who defected to the South or went missing to move to remote areas.

Security officials in the province have reportedly begun classifying the people subject to resettlement. The defectors group said the relocation will start around North Korea founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15 after classification.

The move seems to be part of the North’s efforts to prevent its people from being swayed by news of the spread of democratization movements in the Middle East and Africa from outside. Those subject to relocation are expected to be sent to remote mountainous areas such as Chonsu in Ryanggang Province. The area is easy to control because it is isolated and tough to raise crops except for potatoes and barley.

The defectors group also said the relocation could spread throughout North Korea given that the communist regime has strengthened control over entry to Pyongyang and relocated residents in certain regions.