Six North Korean Escapees Enter a German School in Beijing

Six North Korean Escapees Enter a German School in Beijing. June. 01, 2004 21:57. by Yoo-Seong Hwang yshwang@donga.com.

Five men and a woman in their 20s, identifying themselves as North Koreans, entered a German school operated by the German Embassy stationed in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, China and requested to be sent to South Korea.

However, a stir has been created as a man under the pseudo name, Yoon Oong-ju (34), among this group was expelled outside the school around 8 a.m. for the reason that his North Korean escapee identity was not confirmed.

Yoon, who is believed to have led the entry, called Korean special reporters stationed in Beijing and reported that he was told to leave by the consular of the German Embassy in China, who was quoted as saying, “When you entered here in February, your identity as a North Korean escapee was not confirmed, yet why did you come back?” Yoon took refuge in a safe place, avoiding the eyes of the Chinese police.

Yoon had a personal talk with an official at the Korean Embassy when he entered the German school in February; however, his trip to Korea was unsuccessful as he was unable to provide evidence proving his North Korean residency.

In an attempt to prove his identity as a North Korean escapee, he returned to his hometown in Hweryung, North Korea and was reported to have returned to Beijing on May 5 with his identification card and photograph.

The German Embassy let the five others, excluding Yoon, stay at the apartment for embassy employees within the school district, and is currently discussing with China to resolve this situation.

This German school is a place where North Korean escapees have entered on more than 10 occasions from September 2002 until now.

The German school is located opposite the Beijing Kempinski Hotel, which is five minutes away from the Korean Embassy by car.