Comments on: ROK diplomats confront Chinese cops over NK defectors

By: Fantasy

Fantasy — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:00:52 +0000

Rightly or wrongly West Germany claimed East Germans as her own citizens, as well…

By: Hwarang

Hwarang — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:31:13 +0000

While I’m certainly sympathetic towards the plight of North Korean refugees, it does sound like the ROK diplomats exceeded their authorities. Although the South Korean Constitution recognizes NK refugees as South Korean citizens, that same constitution only carries legal weight in South Korea.

Also, just because the international school is run by South Koreans, it’s not necessarily run by the government of South Korea, and I doubt it has the status of a diplomatic or other official government facility.

Then again, I’m no lawyer.

By: DPRK Studies

DPRK Studies — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:12:50 +0000

China Tries to Turn Tables on ROK Diplomats…

Earlier this week Chinese security officials removed four persons believed to be North Korean defectors – who likely will face imprisonment or execution if sent back to North Korea – from a South Korean government run school in Beijing, which South…

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 02:25:45 +0000

The Chinese media, not surprisingly, is faulting the Korean diplomats for ignoring international law and their own status by interfering with the detention of trespassers. The Chinese police are claiming that they were responding to a phone call from school personnel concerned about unknown intruders posing a threat to campus safety.

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2007.....513s.shtml

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:33:45 +0000

This isn’t the first time NK refugees have been hauled off the campus of a Korean school. I’m surprised that they continue to seek safe haven there.

By: R. Elgin

R. Elgin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:10:01 +0000

I’m glad the Korean diplomats tried to do the right thing though they were wrongfully thwarted. The Chinese have much explaining to do regarding how they dealt with these people.

By: Hatch SZ

Hatch SZ — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:39:10 +0000

I was going to write that China was probably OK to treat them as Norks, but then I realized that, since the snuck in without any passport or ID, they didn’t enter as Norks per se. So China should take it at face value if the South Korean diplomats are claiming them as citizens.

I don’t get the schizophrenic approach the ROK embassies have towards the defectors. I just finished ‘Welcome to Paradise’ where it seems some of the embassies in SE Asia shut their dooors to the defectors while the Camboadian one actively sought the defectors out.

The book I am reading now is Michael Breen’s ‘Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s Dear Leader.’ The funny part: I checked it of the public library here in China.