S. Korea urges China to show progress over issue of N. Korean defectors

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top official in charge of relations with North Korea called on China Thursday to make positive efforts to resolve the diplomatic row over North Korean defectors. South Korea has stepped up public campaigns in recent weeks to ask China not to send back North Korean defectors to their communist homeland where they could face harsh punishment. As Pyongyang's key ally, China repatriates North Korean defectors in its territory to the North by treating them as "economic migrants," not refugees. Still, Beijing has allowed those involved in high-profile cases to travel to South Korea in the past, usually via a third country, to avoid international opprobrium. The latest South Korean appeal comes as China has detained dozens of North Korean defectors and reportedly sent some of them back to the North. "China needs to show progress" over the issue of North Korean defectors in China, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said in a forum at a Seoul hotel. Yu also said North Korea is responsible for a constant stream of defections of its people who want to avoid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression. Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, home to more than 23,000 North Korean defectors. A total of 160 North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in January, down 30 percent from the monthly average last year, the South Korean government data showed Thursday. Seoul had previously sought what is dubbed "quiet diplomacy" with Beijing to settle the issue of North Korean defectors but has become vocal in demanding China stop the forceful repatriation of North Korean defectors. Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, though no major progress was reported on the issue of North Korean defectors. In Washington, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters Wednesday that the United States talked about the plight of North Korean defectors with China. It was unusual for the U.S. government to publicly admit dialogue with China on the sensitive matter. (END)