South Korea said on Friday it believes a large number of North Korean defectors in China have been forcibly returned to the North and had sent a strong protest to China over the move, the unification ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said any deportation of North Koreans back to the country against their will goes against the international norm that bans such moves and South Korea viewed it as a regrettable decision.
"It appears to be true that a large number of North Koreans in China's three northeast provinces have been repatriated to the North," Mr. Koo told a news briefing.
South Korea had been unable to determine the number of people involved and whether there were defectors, patients or criminals among them, Mr. Koo said.
"The South Korean government regrets the situation and raised this matter with the Chinese side in a serious manner, emphasizing our position," he said.
China on Thursday said there were no "so-called defectors" in China, when asked about a report Beijing had deported about 600 North Korean defectors this week despite a request by Seoul against forcible repatriation.
Speaking about people from North Korea who entered illegally for economic reasons, China had always handled the issue according to law, the ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said.
