ID :
211512
Thu, 10/06/2011 - 11:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/211512
The shortlink copeid
(2nd LD) China still probing N. Korean defectors: Seoul official
(ATTN: UPDATES with foreign ministry official's quotes, details in first nine paras; AMENDS headline)
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- China has told South Korea that it is still investigating a group of alleged North Korean defectors caught late last month by Chinese authorities, a South Korean foreign ministry official said Thursday.
The response by China means that Beijing is unlikely to repatriate the group of less than three dozen to North Korea anytime soon, the official said on the condition of anonymity, although it remains uncertain whether China would heed South Korea's calls to not send them back to their communist homeland.
At this stage, the exact number of the North Korean defectors has not been confirmed by the Chinese authorities, the official said.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party claimed during a parliamentary audit that China plans to deport the alleged defectors to North Korea on Thursday.
Asked about the lawmaker's remark, the ministry official replied, "China tells us that an investigation is still underway and it will take time."
China also said it "understands well" the South Korean government's concerns about the issue, the official said.
South Korea has paid special attention to the issue because two former North Korean defectors, who obtained South Korean nationality, are among the detained. They were arrested for apparently helping other North Koreans arrive in South Korea.
Seoul's foreign ministry sent a team of diplomats to Yenji of northeast China, where the North Korean defectors are detained, according to the official.
As North Korea's only major ally, China does not recognize North Korean defectors within its borders as refugees and regularly deports them back to North Korea, where they are said to face severe punishments ranging from torture to public execution.
In response to the latest detention of North Korean defectors by China, South Korean lawmakers belonging to the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, trade and unification adopted Thursday a resolution calling for Beijing to protect the rights of North Korean defectors and halt repatriations to their homeland against their will.
More than 22,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to flee poverty and political repression in their homeland. Many of them reach the South after crossing the border into China.
Human rights activists believe more than 100,000 North Koreans may still be in China in search of a safe route to South Korea.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- China has told South Korea that it is still investigating a group of alleged North Korean defectors caught late last month by Chinese authorities, a South Korean foreign ministry official said Thursday.
The response by China means that Beijing is unlikely to repatriate the group of less than three dozen to North Korea anytime soon, the official said on the condition of anonymity, although it remains uncertain whether China would heed South Korea's calls to not send them back to their communist homeland.
At this stage, the exact number of the North Korean defectors has not been confirmed by the Chinese authorities, the official said.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party claimed during a parliamentary audit that China plans to deport the alleged defectors to North Korea on Thursday.
Asked about the lawmaker's remark, the ministry official replied, "China tells us that an investigation is still underway and it will take time."
China also said it "understands well" the South Korean government's concerns about the issue, the official said.
South Korea has paid special attention to the issue because two former North Korean defectors, who obtained South Korean nationality, are among the detained. They were arrested for apparently helping other North Koreans arrive in South Korea.
Seoul's foreign ministry sent a team of diplomats to Yenji of northeast China, where the North Korean defectors are detained, according to the official.
As North Korea's only major ally, China does not recognize North Korean defectors within its borders as refugees and regularly deports them back to North Korea, where they are said to face severe punishments ranging from torture to public execution.
In response to the latest detention of North Korean defectors by China, South Korean lawmakers belonging to the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, trade and unification adopted Thursday a resolution calling for Beijing to protect the rights of North Korean defectors and halt repatriations to their homeland against their will.
More than 22,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to flee poverty and political repression in their homeland. Many of them reach the South after crossing the border into China.
Human rights activists believe more than 100,000 North Koreans may still be in China in search of a safe route to South Korea.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
