IT easy living next door to hard-faced North Korea.Even before it took to brandishing its"nuclear deterrent"at allcomers,South Koreans were living in the sights of thousands of artillery guns and missiles that could rain ail-too conventional destruction on their cities.In hopes of better relations,in recent years South Korean governments have promoted engagement over confrontation with the prickly North.Demands for"reciprocity"-better behaviour-from North Korea have also been set aside.Such no-strings engagement has its costs.Right now it is making life that bit harder for vulnerable North Koreans hoping to flee political repression at home and make their way via China and places like Cambodia,Laos,Mongolia,Myanmar,Vietnam and Russia to seek asylum in the South.
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