It was reported that about 70 North Korean defectors detained at the Dandong City Immigration Detention Center in the middle of this month were repatriated to North Korea.
On the 23rd, an executive source from China’s Liaoning Province Public Security Bureau told NK Times, “In the middle of this month, about 70 North Korean defectors who were detained at the Dandong City Immigration Detention Center were repatriated to North Korea again.”
He continued, “Most of the residents repatriated to North Korea this time are from regions such as Pyongyang, Hwanghae Province, and Gangwon Province. They left home to go to South Korea last year, but were arrested by public security and spent time in an immigration detention center before leaving (to North Korea) this time.”
The source claimed, “Until last February, about 200 North Korean defectors were imprisoned in the Dandong City Immigration Detention Center,” adding, “However, in two months, almost all of them were repatriated to North Korea, and currently, about a dozen remain.”
At the same time, he said, “Due to the public opinion of the international community, we are paying careful attention to repatriating North Korean defectors to North Korea. To ensure confidentiality, we load materials on both sides of a large truck and then put people on board between them, so it looks like trade materials are being transported, so people ( “It will be difficult to tell whether they are transporting North Korean defectors,” he explained.
Previously, on the 23rd of last month, NK Times reported that the Chinese authorities forcibly repatriated about 40 North Korean defectors to North Korea through Tumun in Jilin Province. (Related article: [Exclusive] China forcibly repatriates 40 North Korean defectors… “Most of them are women”)
***This is a translation by Google, so the content may differ from the Korean article.
