Young defector's mother urges South to stop her 'forcible repatriation'

Participants in a street rally hold signs saying North Korean defectors should not be repatriated, in front of the Seoul Central Post Office in Seoul in this file photo taken Sept. 5, 2018. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

The mother of a nine-year-old North Korean girl captured in China has pleaded with the South Korean government to stop her daughter from being forcibly repatriated to the North.

According to the South's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice for North Korea, a nonprofit human rights organization, Monday, the girl was among seven North Korean defectors arrested recently by Chinese police. The Chinese authorities reportedly plan to hand them over to the North.

The daughter, only identified by her surname Choi, was known to have kept in touch with her mother in South Korea through a broker, but her mother said she lost contact with her daughter Saturday morning, according to the civic group.

The seven defectors, including Choi and her uncle, were hiding on the outskirts of Shenyang in Liaoning Province before being caught by the Chinese police, the organization said. They were believed to have been arrested sometime between Saturday and Sunday.

The organization said Choi's mother contacted on Sunday the South Korean consulate in Shenyang, asking for the South to persuade China to grant them refugee status.

"We are seriously concerned about the possibly forcible repatriation of Choi and other North Korean refugees," the advocacy group for North Korean defectors' human rights said.

"We also urge the South's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make more active diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue. The Chinese government should also protect Choi and stop its plans to repatriate the defectors to the North."

The group urged the Chinese government to allow the arrested defectors to contact the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, rather than forcibly repatriating them to the North.

The South Korean foreign ministry said it has taken all possible measures upon receiving the report to resolve the case in a proper diplomatic manner.

"The ministry cannot share details about the defectors due to concerns over their safety," a ministry official said. "The foreign ministry took necessary action immediately after recognizing the incident."

The Chinese government has yet to release any official statement over the case.

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