DATE=10/7/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=NORTH KOREA / REFUGEES (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254752
BYLINE=HYUN-SUNG KHANG
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: South Korea's Foreign Minister says
between 10-thousand and 30-thousand thousand
North Koreans have fled to China to seek refuge
from famine. It is the first time the South
Korean government has made public its estimate of
the number of refugees from the North. As Hyun-
Sung Khang reports from the South Korean capital,
Seoul, the Foreign Minister also called on
opposition politicians and aid groups to exercise
restraint in raising the issue, for fear of
upsetting Beijing.
TEXT: Driven by years of successive famine,
thousands of North Koreans, have made their way
into neighboring China, in search of food. It is
impossible to estimate the precise number, but
the 10 to 30-thousand figure -- attributed to
South Korean Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young, by
ministry officials -- is far lower than the
number given by some South Korean aid agencies.
They suggest that there may be as many as 300-
thousand North Korean refugees living in China.
The South Korean Foreign Minister says that while
the government views the refugees as a priority,
it will raise the subject through quiet diplomacy
with China. He is urging opposition politicians
and aid agencies to exercise restraint in raising
the subject, for fear of upsetting Beijing and
worsening the plight of the North Koreans.
The issue is a sensitive one between Beijing and
Seoul because China regards the refugees as
defectors, who have illegally crossed into their
territory. Recently, the Chinese ambassador to
Seoul, denounced the South Korean government's
interest in the matter as neo-interventionist.
Foreign Minister Hong responded, saying he
disagrees with the ambassador's view and that
Seoul is trying to have the North Koreans
recognized under international law as economic
refugees.
Opposition politicians have criticized the
government, saying it is ignoring the plight of
the North Koreans. South Korean President Kim Dae
Jung has commented the public misunderstands the
work his administration has been doing in
connection with the refugees.
It is relatively easy to cross the rivers at the
border between China and North Korea and then
melt into the local community. There is already a
large ethnic Korean population in the region.
Many of the refugees return to North Korea after
getting food to eat, but some remain in China.
Some North Korean women have married men from the
area and there are instances of human trafficking
and other human rights violations.
In the face of rising numbers of North Korean
refugees, Beijing has recently stepped up its
policy of repatriating any North Koreans found
illegally in China, and punishing those who aid
them.
NEB/HSK/FC
07-Oct-1999 06:37 AM EDT (07-Oct-1999 1037 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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