While the South Korean government hints at a willingness to put diplomatic pressure on China, human rights groups are trying to generate a clash of public opinion to affect a change in the Chinese position on forced repatriations; however, there are serious doubts about the effectiveness of doing so. Indeed, is there any workable plan that could force China to change its treatment of North Korean defectors?

So far, the government has pointed China towards its obligations under international conventions on refugees and against torture, and plans to table the issue of forced repatriations when the UN Human Rights Council meets in Geneva from today. Meanwhile, a proposal to give detained defectors South Korean identities is also under consideration.

A legislative committee adopted a resolution on Friday calling on China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors, while 304 members of the legal profession have released an urgent plea to the Chinese government in which they assert that forced repatriations are a contravention of international law. On top of this, the burgeoning ‘Korean Wave’ has made it possible for entertainers and celebrities in the cultural sphere to take a lead role in trying to get the Chinese government to reconsider its stance.

Even worse for the Chinese government is growing calls amongst its own internet community to consider the defectors’ plight from a humanitarian point of view. On Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, photos and commentaries regarding protests against repatriations held outside the Chinese embassy in Seoul, and other related news, are being steadily uploaded, commented upon and re-tweeted.

However, a government official highlighted the difficulties faced by any party trying to engage China on this issue when he noted, “China is not confirming any information about the arrested defectors, so it is very difficult to get accurate information on them. China prioritizes its domestic law when it comes to repatriations, so as long as there is no change in China’s position, any chance of a solution is remote.”

China’s position regarding defectors provides just cause for despair. Its official response so far has been to release thinly veiled criticism of the rhetoric coming from South Korea.

China currently views defectors as illegal border-crossers motivated by economic gain. Moreover, the fact that recognition of defectors as refugees is a matter for China alone to decide means that there is little anybody else can do to change their mind. Put simply, if the Chinese government says that defectors are illegal border-crossers and not refugees, there is nothing that can be done to force a change of heart.

For these reasons, many experts suggest that to prevent forced repatriations in the long term, it is necessary for outside parties to use bilateral and multilateral agreements with China to put political pressure on Beijing and continuously keep the issue in the public eye, eventually forcing a climb-down.

One North Korea observer told Daily NK, “The South Korean government needs to use bilateral agreements with China to demand that it not intensify its crackdowns on North Korean defectors while bringing in policies that put international pressure on China through multilateral agreements. Another way would be to make China aware that the issue of forced repatriations has the potential to increase anti-China sentiment not just in South Korea but in many parts of the world."

Head of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights Yoon Yeo Sang says, “Before we call on China to prohibit forced repatriations we need to demand they ease their crackdowns on defectors. North Korean women who marry Chinese men should be naturalized and allowed to live there, and South Korea needs to show very clearly that it has the will to accommodate all defectors who want to get to South Korea, and energetically request that China simply facilitate their passage.”

“If China does not want to accept the demands of the international community to recognize defectors as refugees, then we need to use bilateral and multilateral negotiations and a battle of public opinion to emphasize that they should not be punished by being returned to North Korea,” he adds.