Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they discussed the repatriation of North Korean escapees to China with President Yuan of the Republic of Korea during his state visit; and, if so, what response they received from him.

The UK is utilising all bilateral and multilateral channels to raise the issue of forced repatriation of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) escapees by China. The Prime Minister held productive discussions with the Republic of Korea's (ROK) President Yoon during his state visit, which included China's forced repatriation of escapees and the wider human rights situation in the DPRK. The UK actively promotes the implementation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.