South Korea's top nuclear envoy on Thursday met with the U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights issues to discuss the repatriation of defectors and other pending issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.
During his meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, Kim Gunn expressed concerns that North Korean defectors may be forcibly repatriated to their home country amid reports that the secretive regime appears to be opening up its borders after years of stringent COVID-19 lockdown.
Echoing Kim's concerns, Salmon expressed her commitment to support the issue with continuing interest, the ministry said.
Separately, she also met Chun Young-hee, head of the ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, and exchanged views on the human rights problem in the North.
Salmon arrived in Seoul on Monday for a nine-day visit to meet with Seoul officials and North Korean defectors. It is her third trip to South Korea since assuming the post in July last year.
She is expected to hold discussions with Foreign Minister Park Jin on Monday to discuss cooperation between the South Korean government and the U.N. on the North's human rights.
Source: Yonhap News Agency