Twenty North Korean Defectors Enter the Korean Consulate in China

Twenty North Korean Defectors Enter the Korean Consulate in China. October. 15, 2004 23:14. by Yoo-Seong Hwang yshwang@donga.com.

On October 15, 20 North Korean defectors entered the Korean Consulate in Beijing, China, requesting refuge to South Korea. The defectors consisted of six males and 14 females, four of whom were children.

They climbed over the walls of Beijing’s diplomatic compound at approximately 5:50 a.m (local time) and entered into the South Korean consulate by opening the shutters in 40 minutes.

The defectors planned the entry early in the day to avoid being noticed by the Chinese police. First, the men climbed over the walls to dismantle the barbed wires, and then they helped the women and children climb over.

The Korean consulate is a single-story building situated approximately three kilometers away from the Korean Embassy, and is in Beijing’s diplomatic compound, which is managed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

In the past, the Chinese government had authorized North Korean defectors who entered into the Korean consulate the ability to go to Korea. It is expected that the handling of these 20 defectors will be the same.

Starting in May 2002, after the first three North Korean defectors entered the consulate, a total of 310 attempts of entry into the consulate have been made, which has resulted in 700 refugees making their way to South Korea. The recent entry of 20 additional defectors increases the total number of refugees who are protected under the Korean consulate to 130.