The United States was the original destination for nine North Korean defectors who were eventually sent back to their communist homeland, a human rights activist here said Monday, refuting a claim that they hoped to seek asylum in South Korea.
Controversy persists over who is responsible for the forced repatriation of the nine North Koreans, mostly in their teens, last week. After crossing the border to China in 2011, they moved to Laos, a usual stop for North Korean defectors hoping to resettle in the U.S. or South Korea.
But they were caught by the Lao authorities in May and deported to China, which regards North Korean defectors as economic migrants, not asylum seekers.
In Seoul, Korean activist Kim Hee-tae claimed that the nine defectors initially planned to seek asylum in the U.S. but the destination was changed to South Korea after they were arrested in Laos.
Kim said Suzanne Scholte, the head of the Defense Forum Foundation and the North Korea Freedom Coalition in Washington, is partly to blame for the failed attempt to help the defectors, as she advised them to try to enter the U.S. Embassy in Laos.
"That's just not true, and I can actually provide the written emails that prove that what he's saying is absolutely untrue," Scholte told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
If the nine people wanted to come to the U.S., they could have sought asylum in the U.S. along with a group of three other North Koreans who arrived here in February, she added.
Scholte said she joined the project to help 15 North Koreans holed up in China, many of whom are orphans.
Three of the youngest - 12, 13 and 16 years old - arrived in the U.S. through Thailand. Three others managed to resettle in the South last year.
"The determination was made with this group, there were three that we thought would be better off for settling in the U.S. and those three came here after a great deal of effort and work, but the remainder we felt were better off settling in South Korea. That was their destination," Scholte said.
Controversy persists over who is responsible for the forced repatriation of the nine North Koreans, mostly in their teens, last week. After crossing the border to China in 2011, they moved to Laos, a usual stop for North Korean defectors hoping to resettle in the U.S. or South Korea.
But they were caught by the Lao authorities in May and deported to China, which regards North Korean defectors as economic migrants, not asylum seekers.
In Seoul, Korean activist Kim Hee-tae claimed that the nine defectors initially planned to seek asylum in the U.S. but the destination was changed to South Korea after they were arrested in Laos.
Kim said Suzanne Scholte, the head of the Defense Forum Foundation and the North Korea Freedom Coalition in Washington, is partly to blame for the failed attempt to help the defectors, as she advised them to try to enter the U.S. Embassy in Laos.
"That's just not true, and I can actually provide the written emails that prove that what he's saying is absolutely untrue," Scholte told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
If the nine people wanted to come to the U.S., they could have sought asylum in the U.S. along with a group of three other North Koreans who arrived here in February, she added.
Scholte said she joined the project to help 15 North Koreans holed up in China, many of whom are orphans.
Three of the youngest - 12, 13 and 16 years old - arrived in the U.S. through Thailand. Three others managed to resettle in the South last year.
"The determination was made with this group, there were three that we thought would be better off for settling in the U.S. and those three came here after a great deal of effort and work, but the remainder we felt were better off settling in South Korea. That was their destination," Scholte said.
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