since trying to cross the dmz is extremely dangerous, most north korean defectors, or people who leave their home country to join an new country in a way the first country claims to be illegal, begin their escape through the border with china. this is because the chinese-north korean border is much less heavily guarded, although crossing the chinese border is not without risks. however, there have been some escapees who have escaped by crossing the dmz. most of these people who successfully crossed the dmz were north korean soldiers who already had some knowledge of the area. of the 33,000 north korean defectors, only 21 north korean soldiers crossed the dmz and lived since the north korean famine in 1996.