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Repatriation to North Korea

This is a collection of documents about the repatriation and return migration of individuals of Korean ethnicity back to North Korea after the Korean War. Several waves of ethnic Koreans returned to North Korea during the Cold War, coming from Northeast China, or Manchuria, and Japan. The collection is composed predominantly of Chinese Foreign Ministry documents about repatriations from Northeast China. A smaller number of sources from Hungary and other countries concern the repatriation of Koreans from Japan.

Popular Documents

June 9, 1964

Protocol between the PRC Ministry of Public Security and the DPRK Social Safety Ministry for Mutual Cooperation in Safeguarding National Security and Social Order in Border Areas

The official Protocol in Safeguarding National Security and Social Order in Border Areas between China and North Korea outlines each country's responsibilities in regulating border crossings.

January 22, 1950

Cable, Liu Shaoqi to Chairman Mao [Zedong]

Liu Shaoqi reports to Mao Zedong that the ethnic Korean officers have arrived to bring back the ethnic Koreans to Korea. To the request of the North Korean officers in bringing back the weapons ethnic Korean officers had used, Mao responds in the affirmative.

November 22, 1958

Record of Conversation from the Premier's Reception of the Korean Government Delegation

Zhou Enlai and Kim Il Sung discuss the economic situation, electricity production, agricultural production, cooperativization, and the military in North Korea, as well as the withdrawal of the Chinese People's Army from the DPRK. Zhou and Kim also touched on issues relating to U.S.-Japan relations, inter-Korean relations, Chinese development, the Great Leap Forward, U.S. global strategy, Korean nationals in Japan, and Taiwan.

December 29, 1949

Telegram to Mao Zedong from Nie Rongzhen concerning the Repatriation of Ethnic Korean Soldiers to North Korea

Lin Biao and others ask for instructions on whether to send ethnic Korean officers and soldiers to North Korea.

October 18, 1958

Notification from the Ministry of Interior on Opinions Relating to Marriages between Chinese People and Korean Women

The Ministry of the Interior transmits a report entitled "Internal Opinions on Marriages between Chinese [Men] and [North] Korean Women" as reference for Civil Administration Departments in the People's Republic of China. The document outlines policies for addressing requests from North Korean women wishing to marry Chinese men.