By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Two family members of a prisoner of war (POW) have been repatriated to North Korea after being spotted by Chinese police in a motel in China, a report said Thursday.

Citing unidentified government sources, the report said the prisoner of war escaped from the secretive state eight years ago and helped his daughter and granddaughter come to South Korea via China.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to confirm the reports but its spokesman Moon Tae-young denied that its consulate in Shenyang helped the two people by securing them a room at the motel.

The head of an association of families of abductees, Choi Sung-yong, however, was quoted as saying that since the consulate lacks facilities to accommodate North Korean defectors, they were sent to the motel.

"Since the Chinese and Korean governments are passively handling this issue, even North Korean defectors of special status such as POWs or abductees and their families have been repatriated," Choi said.

He also condemned the government for letting this kind of repatriation reoccur.

In 2006, nine family members of POWs entered the consulate in Shenyang after fleeing from North Korea but were repatriated while staying in a motel recommended by the consulate.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr