As North Korea remains sealed off behind COVID-19 border controls, the flow of defectors making their way to the South has trickled to a near standstill. But it is not only those looking to escape the DPRK that have been constrained: Almost all cross-border movement by traders and smugglers has dried up as well, while U.N. sanctions have prohibited North Koreans from working overseas since late 2019.

These non-defectors have traditionally represented a major voice for reform in North Korea, bringing with them experience from the outside world as well as an interest in pushing the DPRK