China is currently considering repatriating nine young North Korean defectors back to North Korea. In early October, the defectors fled North Korea by crossing the Yalu River to Shenyang and then traveling to the town of Nanning on the Chinese border with Vietnam. They crossed into Vietnam on Oct. 22 but were caught by Vietnamese police and handed over to Chinese authorities in Dongxing, Guangxi. On Oct. 26, they were taken to Shenyang by train and may now be repatriated back to North Korea where they will likely face punishment and persecution upon their return.
International organizations are calling upon China to uphold their international obligations as a signatory of the U.N. Refugee Convention and not repatriate the nine defectors. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, wrote in a statement, “Beijing should abide by its international obligations and allow the nine refugees to settle in a safe country.” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Chinese authorities to disclose where the defectors are and urged Beijing not to repatriate them to North Korea.
China’s decision whether to repatriate defectors has often been contingent on the current health of its relationship with North Korea. Beijing used to repatriate all defectors.
However, after bilateral relations worsened due to North Korea’s third unclear test and the execution of Jang Song-thaek, a former high-ranking North Korean official and liaison to Beijing in 2013, China was reluctant to send North Korean defectors back. Now that bilateral relations are improving, the likelihood of repatriation of the nine defectors is heightened.
