Rethinking the North Korean Repatriation Program: The Change from an Aid Economy to a Hostage Economy

Abstract

This article examines the North Korean repatriation project of the period of December 1959 through 1984. The purpose of this study is to identify economic intentions of North Korea relating to the repatriation project and its impact on the North Korean economy. Though there have been many studies on the North Korean project, they mainly dealt with the processes of homecoming or superficial aspects of its political and financial intentions.

There are a few cases focusing on the repatriation itself. Most studies have been conducted in Japan rather than Korea. Therefore, it is not so easy to find research on this subject in the fields of domestic and international politics. This study searches for the missing parts of the repatriation project through interviews and documents from Japan and North Korea to understand the economic intentions of North Korea. The results show that one of the main goals of North Korea in the repatriation project was to overcome its economic crisis at the time the project was planned.