[MUSIC PLAYING]
THOMAS MORTON: Hi, it's Thomas.
We are in a supermarket in South Korea.
This guy is a Christian pastor, Pastor Kim, who is
about to take us down to Thailand and Laos where we are
going to be meeting North Korean refugees
who have snuck out.
Some of them have been caught up in sex work and are being
slowly funneled through the Chinese mainland to safety.
We're loading up on some snacks for them, because
they're probably hungry, considering their country
hasn't had any food in 20 years.
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
THOMAS MORTON: That's right.
So what all are we getting here?
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
THOMAS MORTON: A nice, little welcoming party.
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
THOMAS MORTON: Oh, OK.
We ready?
So Pastor Kim's ministry is here in Cheonan.
He got into rescuing North Korean refugees and
ministering to them and most of his congregation by meeting
his wife on some sort of a mission trip.
She's from North Korea, and she jumped ship.
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
THOMAS MORTON: And they have spent the rest of their time
trying to pay a series of-- they're like brokers,
basically what we call coyotes in America, or human
traffickers, who help foster the path that allows North
Koreans to bribe the people they need to to get out, and
then to make their way to somewhere that isn't going to
just send them right back to North Korea.
We are just getting to the airport now.
We're going to fly to Chang Mai, Thailand, and from there,
cross the Mekong River into Laos where we will meet our
North Korean defectors.
Laos is still a Communist country.
Laos is still very friendly with North Korea.
So even though they're out of China-- can I hit this trash
can-- if they get caught there, odds are very good they
could get sent back, which means labor camp or worse.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SPEAKING KOREAN]
THOMAS MORTON: So we just made it to the Mekong.
Across the river is Laos.
That's where the North Koreans are right now.
We are going to hope a boat and head over there.
We're going to be in there for 24 hours.
This part of the trip is extraordinarily sketchy.
What we're about to do it does not make me feel
very well at ease.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[SPEAKING KOREAN]