SEOUL — Reports are emerging that China is preparing to send back hundreds of North Korean escapees after having already forcibly repatriated around 500 earlier this month. These actions have sparked growing concerns over human rights and humanitarian issues, particularly due to the risks of torture, imprisonment, and execution that these individuals may face upon their return.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Chinese authorities are planning to deport 620 North Koreans from a pool of 2,000 detained after the reopening of borders on August 27, which had been sealed for three years due to the pandemic. The repatriates include a woman in her 40s who had lived in China for 25 years after fleeing North Korea during the Great Famine in the late 1990s, when more than 1 million people died from hunger. China conducted home inspections across its three border provinces with North Korea under the guise of Covid-19 control and employed biometric technology to identify unregistered North Koreans.
China does not recognize North Koreans as refugees and treats them as aliens violating domestic law. This stance is drawing attention to the tepid response from the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration in South Korea, which professes to prioritize human rights and civil liberties. While in opposition, the People Power Party had criticized the previous government for forcibly sending North Korean fishermen back to their homeland in 2019. However, the current South Korean government has issued no official statements against Beijing's latest actions, despite North Korean defectors being legally recognized as South Korean citizens under the Constitution.
The editorial suggests that Seoul needs to use both direct and indirect diplomatic channels to halt further repatriations. It recommends lobbying the U.S. to bring up the issue in the upcoming summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco next month. Raising international awareness through the UN General Assembly's resolutions on human rights conditions in North Korea is also recommended.
The recent discovery of four North Koreans in a small wooden boat off the coast of South Korea indicates that more North Koreans may attempt the perilous sea journey to escape oppression and food shortages, exacerbated by China's ongoing repatriation. The editorial urges South Korea to prepare a contingency plan for this possible influx.