S. Korean activists urge China to stop returning N. Korean defectors

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- A group of conservative South Korean activist
organizations sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday appealing
for his government to stop repatriating North Korean defectors.

"It is a shame that China's secret agreement with North Korea (to repatriate the
defectors) against their will has resulted in putting them in prison or
execution," right-wing non-governmental organizations, including the American &
Korean Friendship National Council, said in the letter delivered to the Chinese
Embassy in Seoul.
The activists held an internationally coordinated rally in front of the embassy
to mark this date in 1951, when China joined the U.N. Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees. The protests were initiated by Suzanne Scholte, head of the
U.S. non-governmental Defense Forum Foundation.
China says it is bound to an agreement with its ally North Korea to return those
who cross the border without authorization, whom Beijing calls illegal economic
migrants. Crackdowns had reportedly intensified ahead of the Beijing Summer
Olympics last year.
There is no official data on how many North Koreans are illegally staying in
China. Non-governmental organizations give broad estimates from 30,000-200,000.
"That kind of a brutal agreement violates U.N. Charter" and other international
treaties, they said. "We urge China stop brutality against refugees from North
Korea and China protect human rights of defectors as refugees regulated in
international law."
hkim@yna.co.kr
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