4 N. Korean defectors seek protection at S. Korean cultural center in Beijing

BEIJING, July 28 (Yonhap) -- Four North Korean defectors requested protection at
the South Korean cultural center in Beijing but were rejected, a human rights
organization said Tuesday.

The International Coalition for North Korean Human Rights said four North Korean
defectors, including two women, entered the cultural center around 3 p.m. Tuesday
and asked for protection, but left the center two hours later because the South
Korean facility turned down the request, claiming it has no right or capability
to protect them.
The incident followed a similar case earlier this month. A North Korean defector
repeatedly requested asylum at the cultural center July 6 and 7, but her request
was turned down for similar reasons.
Foreign diplomatic missions are able to exercise extraterritoriality for North
Korean defectors who enter their facilities, but a cultural center has no such
rights, a diplomatic source said, explaining the reason for the expulsion.
Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are believed to be staying in China after
fleeing their hunger-stricken homeland. China, North Korea's main ally,
recognizes them not as refugees, but economic migrants. Beijing has an agreement
with Pyongyang to repatriate such defectors.
Until several years ago, North Koreans often attempted to enter foreign
diplomatic offices in China in a desperate bid for asylum, but it has become
increasingly difficult for them to do so as the Chinese authorities have beefed
up security for those facilities.
(END)