Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of reports on the forced return of North Korean defectors from China.

We are aware of reports that China has forcibly repatriated North Korean escapees to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UK remains committed to raising this issue with international partners and at the UN. At the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in North Korea on 24 October, the UK urged the international community to ensure that the rights of North Korean escapees are protected. At the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.