Photo : YONHAP News
A domestic North Korean defectors’ group claimed that a large group of defectors detained in a region of China near the North Korean border were forcibly repatriated to the North late last month.
North Korean People’s Liberation Front chief Jang Se-yul said on Thursday that over 200 North Korean defectors who had been detained in the Changbai Korean Autonomous County, Jilin Province, were reportedly repatriated on April 26.
While an official at the detention center said North Korean defectors have been forcibly returned on a regular basis, Jang said the latest repatriation was verified through one of his group members whose family was among the repatriated defectors.
If such claims are confirmed, the repatriation would follow China’s return of hundreds of defectors after hosting the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
A unification ministry official said on Thursday that although the ministry could not confirm the claims, the government stands by its position that no North Korean defector outside the regime should be returned against their will.