By Jun Ji-hye
Eighteen North Korean defectors in Laos were moved to the South Korean Embassy from a safe house in Vientiane Tuesday, sources said Friday.
The emergency measure came after the Laotian government sent nine young defectors aged between 15 and 23 years old to China late last month, which repatriated them to the Stalinist state.
“The South Korean government decided to move eighteen defectors who were staying in a safe house in Vientiane to the South Korean Embassy and its official residence in order to ensure their safety,” said a diplomatic source, adding that among the eighteen were teenagers.
Diplomatic authorities are stepping up efforts to bring them to Seoul, the official added.
Some local dailies reported President Park Geun-hye took direct control of the transfer of the defectors. However, Cheong Wa Dae officials denied the reports.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kim Jae-won of the Saenuri Party arrived in the Southeast Asian country Thursday to discuss matters regarding the repatriated nine defectors as a special envoy of the ruling party, along with foreign ministry officials.
Kim, head of the South Korea-Laos parliamentarians' union, plans to meet leaders of the governing Laotian People’s Revolutionary Party as well as officials from its government and the South Korean embassy in Vientiane.
“I will ask the Laotian administration to cooperate to help defectors in Laos safely enter the South,” said Kim.
Kim is scheduled to return Tuesday.
The transfer of the 18 to the embassy came after President Park stressed ensuring the safety of North Korean defectors after Laotian authorities’ earlier move.
“Deporting young defectors to their homeland is something that should have not happened, something that is very regrettable. It is extremely important to guarantee defectors’ safety and protect them against being harshly punished,” said Park at a meeting with her senior secretaries, Monday.
President Park asked her aides to draw up measures to prevent defectors’ escape routes via a third country, including Laos, from being blocked.
Laos has become a major halfway point for North Korean defectors who escape from the isolated country through China to eventually resettle in the South.
Following the forcible repatriation, defectors willing to enter Laos from China are said to be being forced to consider other countries such as Myanmar.
Those who attempt to defect from the North but fail usually face harsh punishment, including torture and possible execution.