The British Parliament, a nonpartisan meeting of parliamentarians on the North Korean issue, has released a letter to President Yoon Seok-yeol. The letter contained a message of sadness and concern over the 2019 North Korean defector forcibly repatriated to North Korea, along with a voice calling for punishment for those responsible.
According to the Voice of America (VOA) on the 16th, the letter was sent by independent Senator David Alton, who is leading the meeting, Benedict Rogers, vice chairman of the Conservative Human Rights Committee, David Campanali, candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party, and Jae-young, North Korean defectors Park Ji-hyun and Timothy Cho. written in the name of
In the letter, they said, “I am writing to express my deep sorrow and concern following seeing the photos of North Korean fishermen repatriated to North Korea on November 7, 2019, released by the South Korean Ministry of Unification.”
“North Korean defectors are forced to repatriate to North Korea once morest their will… Those responsible should be punished”
Rep. Alton and others pointed out, “The faces of the two fishermen who arrived at the Military Demarcation Line in Panmunjom showed fear and shock in the photo. They were forcibly handed over to the North Korean regime once morest their will.”
“They knew the fate of waiting for them in North Korea,” he said. “The possibility of public execution or imprisonment is certain.”
“Even if the fishermen are ‘violent criminals’, as claimed by Lee Sang-min, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification at the time, following three days of investigation, they should have had the right to legal procedures and the appointment of an attorney according to the South Korean constitution,” they pointed out. I acknowledge it as this,” he emphasized, and asked on what basis the repatriation was made even though there is no extradition treaty between the two Koreas.
“We urge the new government of the Republic of Korea to investigate who ordered their repatriation, and hold accountable those who violated South Korea’s international obligation to uphold the rule of law, democracy and human rights.”
