9 defectors face repatriation to NK
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Nine North Koreans, who wanted to escape to South Korea via Laos are on the brink of being repatriated to the communist nation, sources said Monday.
The nine, whose ages range from 15 to 23, were sent to China after being caught by the authorities in Laos while making their way to the South Korean Embassy in the capital Vientiane.
Reportedly, North Korean officials in Laos were behind the move with the defectors at one point being detained in the North Korean mission there.
A South Korean couple helped them travel to Laos earlier this month through China after they escaped the North.
Laos is one of the popular transit locations North Korean defectors opt for before arriving in South Korea.
The Laos authorities decided to send the nine defectors to China, which will send them back to the North.
Laos doesn’t have a direct flight to North Korea and wants to evade being designated as the country which sent North Korean defectors directly back to their homeland, according to the sources.
Reportedly, South Korea had asked Laos to send them to Seoul, but Laos "unexpectedly" rejected the request.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held a meeting with senior officials Monday night, shortly after the nine North Koreans were sent back to China.
The ministry also set up a task force, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Kyung-soo, to handle the case.
China has repatriated North Koreans, who crossed the border. Defectors were reportedly tortured and abused at labor camps after they were sent back to their homeland.
The North imposed harsher punishment on defectors, especially after Kim Jong-un took power following the death of his father in December 2011.
Since Kim took power, there was a stark increase in exchanges of high-ranking officials between North Korea and Laos. North Korea’s Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho paid a visit to the Southeast Asian country last May, followed by Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly three months later.