(Dan Tri) – An ordinary hotel located on the banks of the Yalu River, Dandong Province, China, bordering North Korea, seems to be where Pyongyang agents listen to news and search for North Korean defectors.
Life’s hotel lobby (Photo: Guardian)
Life’s hotel reception area smells faintly of vanilla perfume.
One customer rated Life’s as a “really great hotel” on popular Chinese travel website Ctrip.
However, positive reviews cannot fully describe the hotel.
Daily NK newspaper quoted an informed source as saying: `The spies disguised themselves as businessmen, but in fact they stayed here to search, listen for information and plan to arrest people who fled the country.`
Defecating from North Korea is always a gamble for those who decide to flee.
Some were arrested as soon as they crossed the border, some were detained near the borders of Southeast Asian countries.
About 20,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea in the past 10 years.
Sokeel Park, a member of an organization that helps North Koreans defect, said the number of defectors has decreased from 3,000 in 2011 to 1,500 in 2016 since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took power.
Mr. Ji Seong-ho, a fugitive, recalled the difficult escape journey.
He has helped 250 more people escape since he became an activist for North Korean defectors.
View of the river from a room in the hotel (Photo: Guardian)
Daily NK said that North Korean agents used Life’s hotel as a base to organize activities to capture fugitives.
Staff at the hotel have disputed claims that there are North Korean agents.
However, Daily NK assessed that Life’s hotel seemed to create a good cover for North Korean agents.
Guardian believes that this is not a suitable place for small talk.
Outside the vanilla-scented hotel lobby, the hotel’s sign seems to `tease` North Korean defectors trying to escape the country with the words: `New hotel, new life.`
Lord Emperor
According to Guardian
Nick John