2013 (UTC)
The fact that there don't appear to be any, of course!!! For the sake of the argument, let me outline why I consider the story to be incredible (though not necessarily false). 1. Why were his parents permitted to have sex? 2. Why was he not aborted like other babies? 3. Why was he kept alive? Children are not cost-effective as slaves in the early years. 4. Why was he kept in the camp when he could have been transferred to an "orphanage"?  5. If he was dishonest about his mother's death, how can his honesty on anything else be assumed? 6. How could they afford to maintain an electric fence when they couldn't afford to feed border guards? 7. Why was a military uniform a "passport" to travel through the country, when military service is compulsory? What did Shin do when questioned about his unit or purpose given his ignorance of the DPRK? 8. How was Shin able to trade, travel, survive, and escape better than the average North Korean given his ignorance? 9. Why would a hungry border guard let him through in exchange for food and cigarettes, when the guard could capture him, pocket the food and cigarettes, and gain a reward for capturing a traitor and prison escapee? 10. Given the long and largely unguarded border, why would he need to deal with a guard at all? 11. Finally, given that, by his own admission, he has next to no experience of North Korea, outside bizarre prison experience, how can it be established that he has ever been to North Korea, and is not an ethnic Korean from China?
I am sure that the book makes an attempt to explain some of these issues, but this is circular logic. Such an incredible story, would not be accepted so readily if it did not concern North Korea.  For various reasons, there are special "DPRK Rules" which cause most people to suspend their critical judgement when assessing negative stories about the country. I fail to see why I, who unapologetically do not suspend my critical judgement, am subject to the onus of proof.  I rest my case.  21:48, 14 May