SEOUL, March 5 (UPI) -- A South Korea-based human rights organization said Thursday it has identified specific Chinese public security officials and command structures allegedly involved in the systematic forced repatriation of North Korean escapees -- a practice it argues could amount to crimes against humanity under international law.
The findings were presented at a seminar in Seoul hosted by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, or NKDB, which released a new report examining how Chinese authorities detain and return North Koreans who cross the border seeking refuge.
The event brought together international human rights experts and officials such as former South Korean ambassador for North Korean human rights Lee Shin-wha, and included video messages from U.N. Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights Elizabeth Salmón and U.S. State Department official Julie Turner.
The report marks a shift from documenting abuses against North Korean escapees to identifying operational responsibility within Chinese security institutions, Donghwi Shin, a human rights analyst at NKDB and one of the report's authors, said at the seminar.
"Ultimately, the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors can be understood as a structural processing system," he said. "It is not a simple act of administrative enforcement."
