Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 December (HL3335), whether they were aware that a four-year-old child was among the ten North Korean refugees awaiting repatriation by China to North Korea.

We are aware of some reports to this effect from international non-governmental organisations and open source media. The British Government is clear that, under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, China should regard North Koreans fleeing the DPRK as refugees rather than economic migrants. As such, we expect China to observe the fundamental principle that refugees should not be returned to a country where they may be subject to persecution.