Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of (1) the United States, and (2) the Republic of Korea, to coordinate international efforts to secure the release of ten North Korean escapees currently detained in China.

The UK has had no recent formal exchanges with the United States or the Republic of Korea on this issue.

We are concerned that China continues to regard North Koreans fleeing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as economic migrants and returns them to North Korea, rather than as refugees under the 1951 refugee convention. Despite claims by the DPRK authorities that forcibly repatriated refugees are well treated and reintegrated into DPRK society, reports suggest that they are often mistreated by the authorities.