China deported ‘large number’ of N Korean defectors – Seoul

Chinese city of Dandong, at the border with Korea, Northshabby pictures

A” big amount” of Korea, Northn sympathizers, according to Korea, South, have been violently repatriated by China.

As many as 600 Korea, Northns may have been returned, according to new studies from human rights organizations.

Seoul stated on Friday that the studies seem to be accurate, but it did not specify how many people were actually repatriated.

The defectors, mostly women, could face imprisonment, sexual assault, or even death once they returned to the North, according to Human Rights Watch( HRW ).

On Monday evening, hundreds were loaded onto trucks and transported from their detention facilities to Korea, North, according to resources in China.

The government believes that Korea, Northns living worldwide should never be violently repatriated against their will. According to Koo Byoung-sam, a spokeswoman for the South’s Unification Ministry, forced relocation against the will is against international norms of non-refoulement.

Migrants and those seeking asylum shouldn’t be forced to return to nations where they might encounter persecution because of non-refoulement.

According to Mr. Koo, Korea, South has reiterated its place and protested to China. He opted not to provide any more information.

Elizabeth Salmon, a UN special rapporteur on individual rights in Korea, North, estimates that about 2,000 Korea, Northns are being detained in China for crossing the border without authorization.

Korea, Northn dissenters are not considered migrants in China. Despite pleas from foreign institutions and human rights organizations to change its position, it insists that they are” financial workers” and has a plan of sending them back.

When questioned about the alleged repatriations, Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, responded on Thursday that there was” no such thing as so-called” Korea, Northn dissenters” in China. According to Reuters, he claimed Beijing upholds a” concerned attitude” toward Korea, Northns who enter China improperly for financial reasons.

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Since Pyongyang announced the opening of its edges in August, worries about Korea, Northn sympathizers being forced to return have increased, according to HRW. It has confirmed the relocation of nearly 170 sympathizers overall since July 2021.

The most recent returnees were” gravely at threat” of being held in forced labor camps, according to HRW. Additionally, they run the risk of being tortured, forced to vanish, and put to death.

Governments all over the world were urged by the right organization to” mark China’s most recent results and call for an end to future forced earnings.”

Additionally, it urged Beijing to either give the Korea, Northn sympathizers immigrant status or provide them with healthy travel to Korea, South or other nations.