Page 148 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

North Korean regime to muddle through. Due to concerns
about instability in North Korea, for as long as the Kim
regime stays in control China will continue to prop up North
Korea. In line with its policy of unconditionally supporting
North Korea, China has continued to protect the Kim regime
and enable its policy of human rights denial.

As warned by Justice Michael Kirby in a letter appended to
the February 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry report on
human rights in North Korea, by continuing its policy of
forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees, China is aiding
and abetting a regime that commits crimes against humanity.
The forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees to North
Korea, a place where they face a credible fear of persecution,
is a direct and blatant violation of the 1951 UN Refugee
Convention and its 1967 Additional Protocol, to which China
is a party. In the absence of recognition as refugees or any
protection in China, North Korean refugees, in particular girls
and women, represent one of the most vulnerable groups in
China.

North Koreans who manage to escape Kim Jong-Un’s
totalitarian regime often first flee to China, where they have no
protected legal status or opportunity to seek asylum. As a result,
North Koreans seldom find safety in China and are highly
vulnerable, living under the constant threat of deportation to
North Korea. North Korean escapees face serious hardships
and challenges in China. They are victims of human rights
violations committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
and by Chinese individuals. The status of North Koreans in
China degraded under COVID, and human rights groups are
currently striving to assess the extent of that degradation.

Chapter Nine : Addressing the North Korean Conundrum 147