ID :
189153
Fri, 06/17/2011 - 06:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/189153
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S. Korea rules out repatriation of 9 N. Korean defectors
South Korea indicated Friday that it will not return nine North Korean defectors to their communist homeland, a snub expected to further worsen inter-Korean relations.
"As all nine North Koreans wish to defect, according to the investigation by relevant agencies, it will be handled in accordance with their free will," South Korea's Red Cross said in a message to its North Korean counterpart.
The nine defectors -- three men, two women and four children -- are family members and have explicitly expressed their intention to defect to the South after reaching western South Korean waters aboard two engineless boats on Saturday, according to officials.
The North Koreans also appeared to have made thorough preparations and made an overnight journey before defecting by sea to the South, the officials said.
Seoul has a long-standing policy to accept any North Korean defectors who want to live in the South, and repatriate any North Koreans who stray into the South if they want to return.
The latest defections have become the latest irritant to relations with Pyongyang, which have worsened since the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
The North's Red Cross warned Thursday that inter-Korean ties could be further damaged unless Seoul immediately repatriates the North Koreans.
The nine North Koreans are being questioned by South Korean officials in a routine process that usually takes weeks to complete.
In February, a group of 31 North Korean fishermen drifted aboard a troubled wooden vessel across the Yellow Sea.
Seoul has since repatriated 27 of the fishermen to the North while allowing the other four to remain in the South in accordance with their wishes.
However, Pyongyang claimed that South Korea kidnapped the 31 North Koreans and accused the South of forcing the four who wished to stay into defection, a charge that Seoul denies.
South Korea is now home to more than 21,000 North Korean defectors, and the flow of defectors continues amid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression.
"As all nine North Koreans wish to defect, according to the investigation by relevant agencies, it will be handled in accordance with their free will," South Korea's Red Cross said in a message to its North Korean counterpart.
The nine defectors -- three men, two women and four children -- are family members and have explicitly expressed their intention to defect to the South after reaching western South Korean waters aboard two engineless boats on Saturday, according to officials.
The North Koreans also appeared to have made thorough preparations and made an overnight journey before defecting by sea to the South, the officials said.
Seoul has a long-standing policy to accept any North Korean defectors who want to live in the South, and repatriate any North Koreans who stray into the South if they want to return.
The latest defections have become the latest irritant to relations with Pyongyang, which have worsened since the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
The North's Red Cross warned Thursday that inter-Korean ties could be further damaged unless Seoul immediately repatriates the North Koreans.
The nine North Koreans are being questioned by South Korean officials in a routine process that usually takes weeks to complete.
In February, a group of 31 North Korean fishermen drifted aboard a troubled wooden vessel across the Yellow Sea.
Seoul has since repatriated 27 of the fishermen to the North while allowing the other four to remain in the South in accordance with their wishes.
However, Pyongyang claimed that South Korea kidnapped the 31 North Koreans and accused the South of forcing the four who wished to stay into defection, a charge that Seoul denies.
South Korea is now home to more than 21,000 North Korean defectors, and the flow of defectors continues amid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression.
