Anyone who aids these people does so at great personal risk, something the SK and Japanese governments are not interested in for whatever reason, though there are numerous private organisations that do help (as AiT mentioned). SK and Japan, though great and beautiful nations, do not have nearly the degree of freedom that we have here. The United States is the land of liberty and opportunity, and I believe, the freest nation on earth bar none. Let me tell you how.
In South Korea, there is little effort given to stopping North Korean agents from moving about freely. Often as not, they are SK liberals who have starry-eyed dreams about reunification...under the flag of the DPRK. North Koreans are not allowed to speak out against the regime in South Korea, a part of the bass-ackwards "Sunshine Policy." When they do speak out, they or a family member sometimes accidentally end up dead.
It is also widely known that NK is just looking for any reason to attack the south. Their economy is in the crapper and headed swiftly for the sceptic tank. Their power will only shrink with time, making it favorable to use it now while there is still time. SK knows this as well. SK also knows that there literally thousands of modern and semi-modern pieces of artillery hidden all along the DMZ, enough to completely level Seoul in under 10 minutes from the first shell fired. Irregardless of any nuclear threat, this is something we couldn't stop, and would likely kill millions before the guns could be silenced. This is, of course, heaped on top of the fact that the SK government is a nest of hippie losers who think that if they "play nice" with crazy Kim they can all be friends, pass the bong, and sing peace songs around a campfire. They haven't the mettle to help themselves, much less deperate North Koreans.
As for the Japanese helping, there is a two-fold problem: 1) Yes, the Japanese are somewhat leery of foriegners. They aren't as bad as some folks though, and certainly better than my "dear old grandpa", who was in the KKK. Japanese might not be welcoming, but they won't try to kill you either. The world has plenty of morons to go around, but it isn't the deciding factor.
2) Many Koreans, whether just or not, have a deep and abiding hatred for Japan. SKs are more reasonable, but they haven't been brainwashed. NKs are taught from childhood that the Japanese are devils, and that most of their problems are the result of the Japanese occupation. Those determined to be "colaborators" are killed, and their descendents imprisoned or murdered to the third generation, and the survivors are assigned one of the lowest levels in the 51-level social hierarchy system. This means no rations ever in a country where 80% of the populations exhibit signs of starvation.
This has a way of being counterproductive when a brave Japanese person risks life and limb to help, and is then treated like a monster. This is obviously problematic.
Then there is the overarcing threat of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. They will always think twice about attacking us, especially when the only juicy targets are Hawaii, Alaska, and West Coast cities like SF. We would erase them from the face of the earth instantly. SK and Japan are different. We might retaliate against a nuke attack on our allies, but then we might chicken out and simply act "very disappointed." The Japanese and SK comprehend how fickle our leaders can be.
Moreover, any move that these two governments have made in the past has been heralded by NK as a sign of emminent invasion, followed by many threats and warnings involving hyperbole like "seas of fire" and similar nonsense. NK leadership being as loony as it is, though, it will give pause to any reasonable Japanese or SK government. Is it worth helping refugees if it might cost Tokyo or Seoul?
We have therefore come full circle. You want to know why I think you are advocating sending NKers back to hell. It goes something like this--without any help, most NKs have to find a way to blend in long enough to get to a friendly embassy, counsulate, or border while not knowing Mandarin, being dressed like a hobo, and looking like a Holocaust survivor. This generally involves depending on the kindness of strangers for food, shelter, clothing, and transport. Where this is not available, NKers live in the wild in holes and lean-tos in a strange land while traveling thousands of miles on foot. They usually suffer from frostbite and malnutrition. They are already sickly to beginwith, looking like dwarves compared to Chinese natives--they are a foot shorter on average compared to South Koreans with similar genetic heritage).
With odds like this, most die from exposure or starvation or are rounded up and sent back to North Korea. Very few have ever been seen again, much less get to make a second attempt. Their only hope is for someone to raise hell about it. SK and Japan can't or won't. That leaves us.
I remember reading a story about a French UN peacekeeper in Rwanda being "horrified" about the things he saw. He says that while he was on guard duty, which implies he had a loaded weapon, one of the warring tribes attacked the town where his post was located. A woman came running to him, begging him to protect her, and he stood there and watched a man hack her to pieces with a machete not ten feet away. Why didn't he protect her, you ask. Why didn't he at least threaten the goon, or hold her in his arms? Or just shoot the b*stard? He didn't have orders to do that, you see. W
We have been blessed with prosperity and power--the mightiest force the world has ever known. Yet we watch this hideous evil before our very eyes. We don't want to be bothered, we don't want to get in trouble, we want to be safe and left alone. I'm not talking about opening fire yet, just hold the woman in your arms and see if the sword wielding yahoo is brave enough to fight a man. When we do nothing, we are the Frenchman.
Think think that.
that's better...
You post at length, but it all comes back to the childish, selfish, and xenophobic refusal of these two wealthy Asian countries to step up to their responsibilities. And, in the case of Japan, there is a very real guilt to assuage. They simply must provide for the SKoreans, or are worthy of deep contempt.
It should be part of our foreign policy to *insist* that they not hide from their duty. We are powerful, as you say, and it is not *just* that these two rich nations should get off the hook and instead make your local schoolteacher or policeman carry the burden instead. We can accom some refugees. I rebel at the assertion that we should carry more than a portion of the burden because there's a crowded BUS in Tokyo.
Please stop by your inner city ER and take a look around the waiting room. You are witnessing the unravelling--because that ER is shortly going to be out of business. Hospitals across the country are contemplating shutting down emergency services--are you aware that in most states a hospital need not maintain an ER? An ER is just one problem, but it is a symptom of a larger unravelling.
You argue persuasively to sympathy, and I'll point out that clear-eyed and hardheaded stewardship of resources is a very large part of authentic charity, hoping that you'll realize that there is a critical mass which will break the system down.