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| ▲ This illustration depicts North Korean defectors alongside a map showing North Korea and China. (Yonhap) |
rights groups-forced repatriation
Rights groups warn of forced repatriation of N.K. defectors from China to N. Korea
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- Human rights advocacy groups in South Korea warned Monday against Beijing's possible repatriation of North Korean defectors against their will after hundreds of defectors were reportedly sent back to their repressive home country earlier this month.
The warning comes after human rights advocacy groups claimed China forcibly sent back around 600 North Korean defectors, detained in the provinces of Jilin and Liaoning. On Oct. 13, Seoul's unification ministry confirmed that a "large number" of North Korean residents were repatriated, without specifying the figures.
In a press conference, the rights groups, including Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea, claimed Beijing is once again preparing to send back hundreds of North Korean defectors against their will.
"China appears to be preparing for an additional repatriation to North Korea, while its size remains unknown," Kim Tae-hoon, the honorary chairman of Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea said, emphasizing it is a situation that calls for "considerable vigilance."
The group said the repatriation would likely involve hundreds of defectors given that at least 170 remain detained in a single facility after 180 were sent back to the North earlier this month. A group of around 350 defectors had initially been detained there, it said.
The organization said the remaining defectors are expected to be repatriated soon given that all food and medical supplies to the facility have been halted.
Concerns have grown that North Korean defectors could undergo human rights abuses and face harsh punishment if they are sent back to North Korea after it reopened its border in August following more than three years of COVID-19 lockdowns.
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