[imText1]In relation to China’s attitude toward the forced repatriation of POW, the Hannara Party recently asserted that the “Chinese government must hastily acknowledge defectors refugee status.”
At a national policy conference on the 23rd, Minister Jeon Jae Hee said “The Chinese government knows very well how prisoners of war are politically discriminated in North Korea” and stressed “China must adopt a humanitarian view and irrespective of what the circumstance, accept POW recognizing them as refugees.”
Secretary-general Hwang Woo Yea said “The ’98 China-North Korea border area coordinated business agreement recently uncovered by the press, neglects humanitarian procedures and when a person is found states that they must be immediately returned” and “Parts of the agreement which conflict with international law should as revealed in this agreement be amended.”
Secretary-general Hwang added “We hope that China will be able to respect Korea’s current position which reinstates citizenship to the Republic of Korea to defectors who have crossed the North Korean boarder.”
An agreement made by the National Security Agency of North Korea and China in July 1998 is for cooperation with China and North Korea to protest social security and maintain social orders. This agreement states that any defector found and caught in China must be immediately alerted and informed to North Korea.
