S. Korean envoy calls N. Korean escapee repatriation ‘grave’ human rights incident

South Korea’s top envoy at the United Nations on Wednesday criticized China’s reported repatriation of North Korean refugees last week as a “grave” human rights incident and called on the international community to raise voices for their protection.

Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remarks as human rights advocacy groups claimed China forcibly sent back around 600 North Korean defectors, who were detained in the provinces of Jilin and Liaoning, last week.

“We strongly protest this grave human rights incident, which should never happen again,” he said during a U.N. session. “The international community cannot tolerate such actions and must stay vigilant and raise their voices to protect the human rights of these people seeking the life that they deserve.”

Hwang also said that he is “extremely” concerned about the “horrors,” including the death penalty, that repatriated North Koreans could face in the North.

“We all should understand that the horrendous living conditions and human rights situation in the DPRK have continually forced its people to flee across the border, mainly to China,” he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“It is both horrifying and heartbreaking to witness North Korean escapees, who had risked everything including their lives on their long arduous road to freedom, being forcibly repatriated,” he added.

Hwang called attention to experts’ views that North Korean refugees should not be sent back to the reclusive state in line with the international principle of non-refoulement.