By Chung Min-uck
Nine North Korean defectors who were sent to China from Laos are believed to have been repatriated to their reclusive homeland, a government official said, Wednesday.
The defectors, aged between 15 and 23, were deported to China on Monday after being arrested by Laotian authorities on May 16.
“We believe that the nine North Korean defectors were repatriated to North Korea on Tuesday afternoon on an Air Koryo flight,” the official said.
Before the deportations to China, Laos rejected South Korea’s request to send them to Seoul because North Korean officials there who were also aware of the incident pushed for the defectors to be returned to their homeland.
In turn, Seoul reportedly via various diplomatic channels asked the Chinese authorities not to repatriate the nine defectors to the North.
However, the Chinese government did not get involved in the case because they had “appropriate travel documents” given to them by the North Korean authorities.
This provided them with the legal status to stay in China.
Following the repatriation, observers say, the government should be criticized for handling the case “too loosely.”
A government official earlier said it was an “unexpected move” for the Laotian government to send the defectors back to China, because in previous cases, Laos cooperated with the South Korean government regarding defection matters.
Laos has become a major transit point for North Korean defectors, who are fleeing their homeland through China with the aim of eventually entering South Korea.
Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, and hoping to travel to Laos, Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, which is presently home to more than 25,000 North Korean defectors.
North Korean defectors face harsh punishments including possible execution after being repatriated from China.
Meanwhile, the ruling Saenuri Party urged the government to use all its diplomatic resources to bring them to South Korea.
“The foreign service should inform all relevant authorities and prepare against the defectors being sent back to the North,” said Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, chief of the ruling party, at a meeting with senior party lawmakers and officials.
The party chief said he has sent a letter of protest to the Laotian government.
“The government should make more diplomatic efforts to prevent such incidents from happening again, take strict measures against relevant officials if there is any carelessness in the foreign service, and do its best to protect defectors,” he said.
President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are preparing for a summit in Beijing next month. Observers say the issue of North Korean defectors in China is likely to set the agenda at the meeting which will be the first between the two leaders since both took office.