By Chung Min-uck
North Korean defectors risk their lives when they cross the border to enter China seeking freedom and food but they are now facing an even more precarious situation in the neighboring country.
After being caught by Chinese authorities, two dozen defectors have lived in extreme fear as the clock is ticking on repatriation.
The South Korean government has been somewhat hesitant in taking a tough stance in handling the defector problem though it has belatedly called for a humanitarian approach by the Chinese authorities. Concerning the recent case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade plans to officially ask Beijing to halt the repatriation in the light of international obligations.
However, in a phone interview with The Korea Times Sunday, Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor Liberty Forward Party downplayed the government’s response to the plight facing the defectors.
“The Lee Myung-bak government is incompetent. The foreign ministry not only has no information on the defectors’ status, but also has no intention to resolve the critical issue,” Park said.
“All they do is keep watching what China does and try to curry favor.”
The issue surfaced after the 56-year-old lawmaker said Friday that 24 North Korean defectors were being detained in China and waiting to be repatriated. If they are sent back to their country, they will be taken to concentration camps and face extreme maltreatment. North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un earlier vowed to kill three generations of family members of anyone who attempts to leave the country. Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are estimated to be in China.
Meanwhile, Beijing temporally halted its plan to send back the defectors due to increasing criticism from the international community.
“China has been following the pattern of delaying repatriation while the issue is drawing international attention. But it eventually returns them after such criticism subsides. I think China will send the defectors back to North Korea,” said Park.
Beijing repatriates North Korean refugees based on an agreement made with its ally Pyongyang.
Although in 1982 China signed up to the U.N. Refugee Convention which contains “the principle of non-refoulement,” a part of international law to protect refugees from being returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be threatened, the Chinese government classifies North Korean escapees in China as “illegal economic migrants” and denies their status as refugees.
“We need consistent attention to the issue,” said Park. “Whichever party takes power (in South Korea’s 2012 presidential election) it should have the will to abide by international law on human rights from a humanitarian standpoint.”
Park has long been active in advocating North Korean defectors’ rights since she became a lawmaker in 2008.
Last week, the first-term-legislator sent email and faxes to ask help from U.S. President Barack Obama, Robert King, a U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Park is planning to hold afternoon rallies in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul throughout the week and also plans to hold regular rallies every Wednesday from next week.
She is currently a member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee.