Canada is known around the world as a safe haven for refugees.
But that may change for scores of North Korean defectors,... some 150 of them are reportedly facing deportation over false statements made on their asylum application forms.
Ji Myung-kil reports.
Canada... despite its reputation as a save haven for refugees... has deported nearly 2-thousand North Korean refugees since 2013.
The reason, according to the Canadian government, is... that the refugees simply lied on their asylum applications.
As Canada continues to kick out North Korean defectors... another 1-hundred-fifty are under imminent threat of deportation.

"If the case turns out to be true... then there would be a statement issued from the UNHCR headquarters for the deportation of 150 North Koreans."

Al Jazeera interviewed a North Korean defector going by the surname Kim... who came to Canada 11 years ago with his wife,... daughter and son.
They have two more children who are Canadian citizens.
If deportation orders are given,... it would be catastrophic for Mr. Kim's family.

Another defector family under the surname Jo... told Al Jazeera that the family did lie on their asylum application,... saying they defected to China,... not South Korea,... to help ease the immigration process, adding that they did it to escape the horrible situation.
The Jo family could be broken up too... if Canada carries out the deportation orders.

"The UNHCR cannot exert its own authority on other states for legal procedures without intergovernmental agreements."

According to the Canadian Federation of North Korean Defectors,... family members still left behind in North Korea remain vulnerable because of the defectors' escape.
Therefore, attracting attention to their situation could be deadly... as North Korean spies can track down the defectors,... and if found by the North Korean government,... their families in North Korea could be executed or sent to labor camps.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.