Han Young and Kang Je-buk Joint Statement on Forced Repatriation... "Prevent Additional Repatriation" Also in the United States

Joint Statement Condemning Forced Repatriation by UK Parliamentary Body and Unification Research Institute
China Held Responsible... "Must Adhere to Principle of Prohibiting Forced Repatriation"
Next Month Yoon's State Visit... Will Forced Repatriation Issue Be Addressed?
In US, ROK-US Human Rights Envoys Say "Additional Repatriations Must Be Prevented"

As international concerns grow over China's mass repatriation of hundreds of North Korean defectors, the Korea Institute for National Unification and a UK parliamentary body have issued a joint statement holding the Chinese government accountable to prevent further repatriations. This development has drawn attention to whether North Korean human rights issues, including the 'forced repatriation of defectors,' will be addressed as agenda items during President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit next month.

According to the Institute for National Unification on the 25th, the institute and the UK Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea (APPG NK) held a European North Korea Human Rights Forum on the 24th (local time) at the House of Lords in Westminster, UK, where they adopted a joint statement. These organizations explicitly stated that the purpose was to prevent the repatriation of North Korean refugees by the Chinese authorities and urged adherence to the principle of non-refoulement. They emphasized cooperation among the South Korean government, the UK Parliament, and the international community to stop repatriations, especially of children, women, and pregnant women.

The Korea Institute for National Unification and the UK Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea (APPG NK) held the European North Korea Human Rights Forum on the 24th (local time) at the House of Lords in Westminster, UK, and adopted a joint statement.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Cheon-sik, president of the Institute for National Unification, referenced the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on North Korean human rights abuses, which likened the situation to the 'Holocaust,' and criticized that "North Korea has not accepted such improvement recommendations, and the (human rights) situation is worsening." The COI pointed out in its 2014 report that crimes against humanity equivalent to a 21st-century Holocaust were being committed by the highest levels of North Korean leadership. The Holocaust refers to the mass murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, during World War II.

The forum included APPG NK co-chairs and participants such as Senator David Alton, who recently expressed 'repatriation concerns' during a video meeting with Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, Professor John Neilson-Wright of Cambridge University, former UK Ambassador to North Korea John Everard, and Shin Hee-seok, legal analyst of the Transitional Justice Working Group.

These experts diagnosed that human rights issues are closely linked to international peace and security and emphasized that human rights matters should be more prominently addressed at the UN Security Council. They agreed that President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit next month should be used as an opportunity to strengthen Korea-UK relations and raise awareness of North Korean human rights issues. The UK side also mentioned the possibility that the US might reduce its influence in Northeast Asia depending on the election outcome and proposed that the UK government, which has maintained a long-standing relationship with South Korea, should take on the role of a 'third-party coordinator.'

On the 24th (local time), at the European North Korean Human Rights Forum held in the House of Lords, Westminster, UK, Yu-bin (left) and Gyu-ri, sisters of Kim Cheol-ok, who is presumed to have been repatriated on the 9th, appealed for help.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The forum also included Yu-bin and Gyu-ri, sisters of Kim Cheol-ok, who was reportedly repatriated to North Korea during the large-scale repatriation incident on the 9th. Given the opportunity to speak, Gyu-ri appealed, "My younger brother, who lived in China for 25 years and even had a six-month-old grandson, was suddenly repatriated," adding, "My older brother was also repatriated, beaten to death in prison, and we don't even know where he was buried, so I cannot let my younger brother be sent like that." She also lamented that although she sought help by visiting the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Seoul office last May, she received no response until her brother was taken back to North Korea.

Meanwhile, discussions to prevent China's 'additional repatriations' of North Korean defectors have also taken place in the United States. Lee Shin-hwa, North Korean Human Rights International Cooperation Ambassador, Julie Turner, US State Department Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, and Elizabeth Salm?n, UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, expressed concerns about human rights abuses that could occur in North Korea after repatriation during a panel hosted jointly by the US and South Korean missions to the UN. They stated, "The international community must act together to prevent forced repatriation."

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