China Resumes Forced Return of North Korean Defectors – National Coalition Protests

Members of the National Coalition Against the Forcible Return of North Korean Detainees hold picket signs urging the Chinese government to stop the forcible return of North Korean compatriots. Pictures that are not directly related to the content of the article. 2023.8.7/News 1

Evidence continues that China has recently resumed the forced return of North Korean defectors it had imprisoned in detention facilities in the country. If we combine the testimonies, the scale of the return to North Korea is hundreds of people.

The Unification of Korea, a group of North Korean defectors, said on the 2nd, “We heard through various channels that about 200 North Korean defectors have been returned to North Korea from the Baishan Detention Center in Jilin Province, China.” The forced return is said to have taken place around the 26th of last month.

On this day, the United States Radio Free Asia (RFA) also referred to the JM Mission, which is involved in rescue activities for North Korean defectors, and reported, “50 to 60 North Korean defectors who had been arrested and detained in Tumen and Hunchun, China, returned to North Korea on the 26th of last month.” RFA also reported, “A small number of people were returned to North Korea from Dandong, China,” and “These are all the North Korean defectors who were caught trying to go to South Korea.”

Remarkably, China returned 500 to 600 of the 2,000 North Korean defectors detained over the three years of the coronavirus lockdown to North Korea the day after the Hangzhou Asian Games were closed in October last year. The process of returning North Korean defectors, which had been temporarily suspended due to criticism from the international community, appears to have resumed after six months. In the world of diplomacy, there is speculation that the fact that China and North Korea are strengthening their relationship by declaring ‘North Korea-China Friendship Year’ to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year could have had an effect. on the return of North Korean defectors. When Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the third-highest ranking Chinese power official, visited North Korea last month, North Korean media reported that “the two sides discussed important issues frankly.”

The government is also weighing the possibility of having to return to North Korea and confirming specific details. The National Intelligence Service said, “We are prioritizing the issue of forced return of North Korean defectors and have been continuously tracking the possibility that Chinese authorities will forcibly return additional North Korean defectors.” On this day, the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said, “The government holds the position that North Korean defectors staying abroad should not be forcibly transported against their free will under any circumstances.”

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