Commenting on a new breed of North Korean defectors, SMU Assistant Professor of Political Science Song Jiyoung said that the vast majority of defectors need not be overly anxious about their safety, although “the infiltration of North Korean spies through mass defection to the South has happened in recent years”. The North Korean government tried to assassinate the late Hwang Jang Yup, a former teacher and advisor of Kim Jong Il, but did not succeed. To Assistant Prof Song, the real problem is whether northerners can really be integrated into the highly competitive South Korean world.