SEOUL – A North Korean defector living in South Korea publicly implored Chinese authorities on Wednesday to prevent the imminent repatriation of his mother, warning that the case could herald a resurgence in the forced return of North Korean refugees.
Kim Geum-seong, 22, issued the plea during an emergency press conference organized by Amnesty International Korea held outside the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. “Mom, it is still cold outside, and Chinese prisons must be even colder and harder,” Kim said, visibly distressed. “Why must someone risk their life just to spot the child they long to meet?”
According to activists familiar with the case, Kim’s mother initially crossed the Yalu River into China in 2019, facilitating her son’s subsequent escape to South Korea while remaining in China, where she later formed a new family. She was arrested in January 2025 while attempting to transit through a third country en route to South Korea and is currently detained in Jilin Province, China.
Kim learned of the potential for his mother’s repatriation and joined the Amnesty International event to raise awareness. Choi Jae-hoon, a senior manager at Amnesty International Korea, cautioned that North Korean defectors forcibly returned to their homeland face dire consequences. “If they are forcibly repatriated, they face torture, arbitrary detention, forced labor, deliberate starvation, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, forced abortion, political prison camps and even execution,” Choi stated.
Amnesty International Korea is urging China to cease forced repatriations, grant defectors access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and ensure safe passage to third countries. Kim Tae-hoon, who operates a group home for young North Korean defectors and serves as Kim Geum-seong’s legal guardian, reported that a guard at the detention facility informed the woman’s Chinese husband that repatriation could occur at any moment. He as well indicated that at least three other North Korean defectors are reportedly held at the same facility.
While large-scale repatriations have been relatively infrequent in recent years, activists have noted a concerning trend of renewed deportations by China in 2023 and 2024. Some believe that further deportations may occur following the conclusion of China’s annual “Two Sessions” political meetings, which concluded Wednesday. An activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that China has been quietly deporting defectors, particularly those attempting to reach South Korea, but that intervention by Chinese relatives has occasionally prevented repatriation in cases where defectors have established families in China.
The Seoul-based North Korean Human Rights Information Center recently asserted that China’s practice of forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors may constitute crimes against humanity. The organization has begun compiling a database to identify Chinese officials involved in repatriation decisions, focusing on public security authorities in Liaoning and Jilin provinces.
