AFPThe bridges between the Chinese city of Dandong and Sinuiju in North Korea, as seen from China
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:08
A South Korean human rights group says China has deported about 600 North Korean refugees. The South Korean government also suspects the deportation of the large group and has protested to China.
It would be China’s first large-scale deportation in almost four years. North Korea recently opened its borders after a years-long corona lockdown. The deportation would have taken place at the beginning of the week. There are also believed to be children among the group.
China does not deny the deportations. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country always complies with Chinese law when it comes to “North Koreans who have entered the country illegally.” In practice, this means that China detains North Koreans it catches.
It is unclear exactly how many North Koreans are in the country and how many of them will be deported. According to the United Nations, more than 2,000 North Korean refugees are trapped in China awaiting deportation.
Open borders
During the corona pandemic, North Korea did not allow anyone to enter the country for fear of infections. The border crossers arrested by China were also not welcome. Now that the country’s borders have been opened again, it is expected that even more refugees will be sent back in the near future.
But the high number of the last deportation will probably not happen again, thinks Remco Breuker, professor of Korean Studies at Leiden University. “Over the past few years they haven’t been able to deport people, so that’s why there are so many now. Basically it happens in small groups.”
China correspondent Sjoerd den Daas:
“Since dictator Kim Jong-un took over power from his father in 2012, the number of people fleeing North Korea has fallen sharply. This is partly because border controls have been stepped up and penalties have been sharply increased. This not only made it possible from a practical point of view point of view more difficult to leave the dictatorship, but also much more expensive to pay smugglers and bribe border guards.
It is plausible that deportations have resumed due to the opening of the borders. China deports people who do not have a valid residence permit, and North Koreans are not an exception. China says it is sending back people who came to the People’s Republic for economic reasons, but for most North Koreans, hunger is just one of many reasons to flee the dictatorship.”
Once back in their home country, they risk harsh punishments such as detention, torture and other forms of violence. The North Korean government sees them as traitors. “The authorities distinguish between two types of offences: an economic and a political offence. Going to China to buy things and sell them at home is punishable, but it is less serious than people wanting to flee,” Breuker explains. “The latter is punished very harshly: to a prison camp and sometimes even the death penalty.”
This punishment is mainly intended as a warning to the rest of the population not to do the same as their returned compatriots. Breuker: “This is purely to show that the regime has the situation well under control and that you are not safe even in China.”
South Korea has been calling on China for some time not to return North Koreans who have fled, but so far China has not responded. Following reports of the large-scale deportation, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Reuters news agency that the government will continue efforts to protect North Korean refugees.
2023-10-13 11:08:37
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