Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the arrest in China of seven North Korean refugees who were en route to South Korea; and whether they have made any representations on behalf of those individuals to the government of China, including raising the risks to the escapees of repatriation, and encouraging safe passage to South Korea.

We are aware of reports of a number of North Koreans being detained in China. We have not raised these individual cases with the Chinese Government. But we continue to emphasise to China that people fleeing North Korea should be treated as legitimate asylum claimants and should not be returned without their consent.

The British Government 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.