Rights group calls on China to release N. Korean refugees

SEOUL: China should immediately reveal the whereabouts of eight North Koreans it detained last month, Human Rights Watch said, adding that they risk severe torture if they were returned to the North.

Most North Korean refugees begin their escape by crossing into China and then try to make it to third countries – often in South-East Asia – where they seek asylum in the South.

If caught and returned to the North, they can face severe punishment.

China regularly labels North Koreans illegal “economic migrants” and repatriates them based on a border protocol adopted in 1986.

“By now, there are plenty of survivor accounts that reveal Kim Jongun’s administration is routinely persecuting those who are forced back to North Korea,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, yesterday.

The group it highlighted – which includes at least four women – was detained by Chinese officials in midMarch after they were stopped for a random check in Shenyang, northeastern China.

Human Rights Watch said that on the basis of information from sources it considers usually reliable, the group was still believed to be jailed in China.

But it feared they may soon be returned to the North since “most repatriations happen two months after detention”.

“There is no way to sugarcoat this: if this group is forced back to North Korea, their lives and safety will be at risk,” Robertson said.

More than 40 North Koreans, including children and pregnant women, have been held by China over the past nine months, Human Rights Watch said, and at least nine forcibly returned to the North.

The number of refugees arriving in South Korea plunged nearly 50% to 1,417 last year. — AFP