Government: "We do not know the current status of the two North Korean deported sailors"

Response to UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights
"Deported Due to Lack of Sincerity in Defection"

On the afternoon of November 8 last year, the Navy was towing a North Korean wooden boat in the East Sea to hand it over to the North Korean side.
The wooden boat was the one on which two North Korean residents, who had killed 16 fellow crew members and were captured by military authorities while fleeing, were aboard. The two defectors were repatriated to North Korea the day before.

The government informed the United Nations that the two North Korean sailors, who were suspected of killing 16 fellow crew members, were repatriated to North Korea last year because no genuine intention to defect was found from them. Additionally, the government stated that it does not know their current status.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the 1st (local time), the government recently submitted a response letter to the allegation letter from Thomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In the response letter, the government acknowledged that the sailors later expressed an intention to defect, but determined that this was insincere because they fled despite warning shots fired by South Korean military authorities at the time of capture, and one of them attempted an extreme act.

Furthermore, the government concluded that due to insufficient trial support and difficulties in obtaining evidence between the South and North, it was difficult to guarantee a proper trial, and exercising jurisdiction over the trial could rather endanger the safety of South Korean citizens.

The government also emphasized that it reviewed not only domestic laws such as the Constitution but also international human rights treaties to which South Korea is a party, and found no applicable provisions for the North Korean sailors.

They explained that since the individuals committed serious non-political crimes and cannot be considered refugees, and as suspects who brutally murdered multiple people, repatriation does not violate the Convention Against Torture, which prohibits deportation to countries where there is a risk of torture.

The government responded that it does not yet know which North Korean authority received them or their current condition.

Earlier, Special Rapporteur Quintana sent a letter of allegation to the South Korean government on January 28, requesting a response regarding whether any consideration was given to the human rights of the North Korean sailors at the time of repatriation.

He expressed "deep concern about the South Korean government's decision to repatriate two individuals to North Korea, where serious human rights violations frequently occur," and inquired about the legal basis for the repatriation decision.

Special Rapporteur Quintana also sent a similar urgent appeal to North Korea.

This is the first time since February 15, 2016, that the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea has sent an official letter to the North Korean government.

However, it is reported that North Korea has not yet responded.

The two North Korean sailors were captured in the East Sea on November 2 last year, and after an investigation, the government repatriated them to North Korea through Panmunjom on the 7th of that month.

The investigation revealed that in mid-August last year, they departed from Kimchaek Port in North Korea and were fishing for squid in Russian waters when they killed the captain due to his harsh treatment, and to cover up the crime, they also killed 15 fellow crew members.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.