[Editorial] The Country that Cannot Protect the Families
of Army Captives from North Korea
The Korean Consulate General in Shenyang, China neglected to protect the families of asylum-seeking army captives, which led to their repatriation to the north. It is out of all reason. These nine asylum seekers escaped from North Korea last July and requested for help of the Korean government through the consulate. But they were caught by the public security forces of China at a private accommodation place that was guided by the consulate. Afterwards, they were dragged to North Korea at the end of last October due to the lack of prompt action. The Shenyang Consulate raised a scandal as they ignored the request for urgent help last December made by the asylum seekers who were fishermen kidnapped to North Korea.
It is beyond anyone’s comprehension looking into several incidents around the Shenyang Consulate. It brings up a question whether the place is truly the diplomatic channel of Korea. Above all, the consulate did not take any action at all for security despite the handover of asylum seekers who were families of army captives. The public security forces of China are currently making a frantic search to arrest asylum seekers from North Korea without precedent. It causes uncertainty whether the consulate conducted anything for quick and appropriate diplomatic management of the situation in an attempt to stop the repatriation to the north. In the case of the Shenyang Consulate, it is certainly not to be blamed on the whole as they have suffered through burdensome duties. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, four consuls had to manage 215,000 visa applications last year.
However, nothing is more important than the security of asylum seekers. These are the people who risked their lives to escape from the north. Furthermore, it is said that if the escapees are caught by the public security forces of China and get sent to the north, they will be severely punished including imprisonment in a concentration camp. It is worrisome whether a trend of neglecting a queue of escapees that can be formed by any chance is overwhelming the government. It is now time to become conscious once again of the valuable human rights of asylum seekers from North Korea.
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 / 입력시간: 2007. 01.19. 16:47
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