hankyoreh

　On the issue of forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China, the South Korean government is poised to abandon its “quiet diplomacy” and openly call on China to abide by the terms of the Refugee Convention and Convention Against Torture. But Beijing is showing no signs of backing down, insisting that it will continue with its policy. If Seoul does ratchet up its pressure against Beijing out of consciousness of organized opposition and public opinion against repatriation, it is apparent that Beijing will object even more strenuously. The biggest victims here would be the defectors themselves. We must not allow ourselves to get caught up in this kind of vicious cycle.
　As the actor Cha In-pyo put it, there is no distinction of left and right when it comes to North Korean defectors. All of us have a duty to help suffering refugees, regardless of political and philosophical differences. And we hope China does not shirk its responsibility either. Leaving behind any question of right or wrong, however, China is unlikely to ignore the wishes of its ally North Korea and heed South Korea on the issue of defectors. This is not something that will be resolved through criticizing and pressuring Beijing, which would likely lead it to step up its crackdowns and repatriations. The more salient the defector issue becomes, and the more it turns into a political and diplomatic issue, the less likely a resolution will be. This is why “quiet diplomacy” is necessary.
　Since the Lee Myung-bak administration took office, repatriations have reportedly become more frequent, and discussions with China on the passage of defectors to a third country have become more difficult. Part of this stems from the larger numbers of defectors, but is also related to Beijing‘s closer relations with Pyongyang and distance from Seoul. In other words, the breakdown of our relations with China has led to a breakdown in cooperation on the handling of defectors, and made resolving the issue far more difficult. If we turn this around, though, it means that better inter-Korean relations could result in better South Korea-China relations and make resolving the defector issue easier. That’s how it was with the previous administration. As the example of East and West Germany showed, improved inter-Korean relations could allow us to find a way of trading the South Korean immigration of political and economic refugees in North Korea for economic aid through informal, direct negotiations with Pyongyang without going through China. This would apply even for people like abductees and prisoners of war, for whom we have been able to do nothing so far.
　Denouncing the repatriation of defectors in China and turning it into a political and diplomatic issue while allowing inter-Korean relations to become strained could make the problem worse. Right now, we should be looking at every available option for providing real assistance to defectors, but we also need to take a more structured and longer view, linking the issue to changes in our relations with Pyongyang and Beijing.
　Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]