The objective of this study is to introduce and evaluate the educational programmes and policies by South Korean government for North Korean defector youth from 2000 to the present, by applying Amartya Sen’s capability approach for the evaluation. The policies for North Korean defector youth in South Korea were initially made in the 2000s to protect the North Korean youth’s right to education, one of the essential elements for human rights, and later developed to strengthen capabilities of each North Korean youth. For example, from early 2000s to 2008, for the protection of rights to education, educational infrastructure, such as governmental and non-governmental educational facilities, were provided. In September 2009, Center for North Korean Youth was established in Korea Education Development Institute, with which various programmes and policies, such as supplementary textbooks, alternative all-day after-school educational facilities, group homes, coordinators for North Korean youth, pre-college programmes, were made and developed. From 2012 onwards, policies geared to develop capabilities of each North Korean youth were developed, including Korean language education for North Korean youth who were born in third countries such as China, and career development and counseling programmes. More systematic educational provisions that center around the intrinsic values of education need to be made in order for the youth to realize themselves as free agents who could make value choices to design and manage their own lives, and, ultimately grow into citizens of a democratic society of Korea.