POW’s to Seoul?
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) — The Chinese government has agreed to hand over South Korean prisoners of war who escape from North Korea to the South despite its agreement with Pyongyang to repatriate illegal migrants from the communist state, a government official said Thursday.
“The governments of the two countries reached an agreement on sending South Korean POWs (in China) to South Korea with the Chinese government’s cooperation,” the official said.
The official, speaking anonymously, said the agreement was reached earlier in the year. Others have said such an agreement was made in April.
The agreement is to allow South Korean POWs who cross the North Korea-China border to first undergo interrogation by Chinese police, according to the official. The police would then hand them over to South Korean diplomats who would arrange possibly direct flights for the POWs to the South.
Seoul and its allies have long called on the Chinese government to uphold its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and other international agreements on refugees and asylum seekers.
But Beijing regularly rounds up those who cross the North Korea-China border, including South Korean POWs, and sends them back according to a secret agreement between the North and China’s Ministry of Public Security made in 1986.
So a couple of things have changed in China in the last months. The China-North Korean border has been tightened. China allowed refugees in the US Consulate to fly out of the country directly. It released (and deported) a known North Korean refugee smuggler. And now, it’s about to hand over South Korean POW’s to the South instead of the north.
From what I see, while China does not want any more North Korean refugees coming in, it no longer wants to cover for North Korea. Keep in mind these are small changes and it does not change China’s repatriation treaty with North Korea.
Unfortunately, these recent actions have more to do with North Korea embarassing China than any activism on our part. Still, an interesting development for those who follow this issue.
