South Korean Embassies in China Turn Away Escapees from North

SEOUL: South Koreans are outraged at the reported mistreatment of several South Koreans citizens by their own embassy in China after they fled North Korea, report the Korean-language Chosun Daily and the Korea Times.Refugee

In what appears to be a blatant disregard for the safety of their own citizens, embassy officials in the northern Chinese city of Shenyang displayed contempt and ineptitude in responding to numerous pleas for aid from recent escapees from North Korea, according to the report. One editorial in the Chosun Daily bitterly accused the South Korean government of ¡°turning its back on its own people.

On Jan. 3, the Chosun Daily reported that Wook Il Choi, 67, crossed into China from North Korea after being held there for 31 years. Choi, along with 32 other South Korean fishermen, was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1975 while on board a fishing vessel. Choi is only the second person to escape.
Korean Refugee
Choi and his North Korean guide left Kimchaek City in North Korea's rural Hamgyeong Province in late December. Facing sub-zero temperatures, the two men hopped on an open cargo train headed for the Tumen River marking the northern border between China and North Korea. The train was inspected at 13 different checkpoints before arriving in Hwaesan, where Choi and his guides crossed the frozen river into China.

Choi hoped to reunite with his South Korean wife Jeong Ja Yang, 66, in China and then make his way back to South Korea with her. Although the two had not seen each other for more than three decades, Choi had managed to contact her via a secret letter he sent while still in North Korea. Yang awaited Choi's arrival at an undisclosed location in China, where the two were finally reunited on December 31, 2006, after 31 years of separation.

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