The Marmot’s Hole

Well, this is interesting. Courtesy the Korea Times:

The government on Tuesday said it has been operating a total of 10 refugee camps inside military installations to deal with possible influx of North Korean refugees.
According to the Defense Ministry, a total of six temporary shelters have been set up inside six South Korean army bases near the border areas.
There are four additional shelters at naval installations in Tonghae, Kangwon Province and Pyongtaek, Kyonggi Province.
The contingency plan, which has been in force since 1993, has been classified as confidential for fear of repercussion from the North, said the Defense Ministry in a report to the National Assembly.
This is the first time the government has revealed its detailed plan to prepare for contingencies related to the North, such as a mass flood of refugee to the South.
The government also came up with safe convoy procedures for defectors.
North Koreans who defect across the inter-Korean border would be held at the temporary shelters for a weeklong investigation before being sent to one of the transit centers near Seoul for further investigation, officials said.
The government-level countermeasure to handle mass North Korean defectors has been constantly modified and developed, according to a ministry official.
Nearly 4,000 North Koreas have defected to South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953. The number has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 583 in 2001, 1,140 in 2002 and 984 so far this year.

It’s nice to know the government’s been thinking. Still, I hope starving North Korean aren’t planning to stream across the DMZ anytime soon. Not that I don’t encourage them to seek (relative) freedom in the South, but making your way through the world’s largest minefield doesn’t strike me as the best route by which to come.