Theses and Dissertations

Author

Shinhea Eom

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Cavanaugh, Jeffrey

Committee Member

Radin, Dagmar

Committee Member

Travis, Rick L.

Date of Degree

12-11-2009

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Political Science

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Political Science

Abstract

China does not view North Koreans who are staying in its territory as refugees and routinely deports them to North Korea. However, in the early 21st century, there have been some cases in which China has allowed North Koreans to leave China instead of sending them back to North Korea. This thesis examines how China’s North Korean refugee policy has changed over the last two decades and whether international factors have influenced this policy. The results suggest that in the 1990’s China gave priority to the repatriation agreement with North Korea. However, in the 2000’s from its own experience with a number of foreign embassy intrusions by North Koreans, China has learned that the issue has potential for creating diplomatic problems with other countries. To avoid this conflict, China has tactically allowed North Koreans who have gained global attention to leave China, but otherwise still adheres its traditional deportation policy.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17437

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