Tunisian president meets Saudi foreign minister in Tunis Prince Faisal co-chairs Saudi-Tunisian Political Consultation Committee meeting    Crown Prince to outline domestic and foreign policy priorities during Shoura Council address Wednesday    Hajj Ministry launches catering challenge to foster innovation in services to pilgrims    Saudi Arabia slams Israel's use of blockade and starvation as tactics to impose forceful displacement    PIF chief says Saudi transformation could outpace China's, outlines 'filtration' investment process The Fund to unveil its next five-year strategy soon    Arcapita acquires C&K Paving, expanding its global business services portfolio    Israel carries out attack against Hamas leadership in Qatar    Saudi Arabia strongly condemns brutal Israeli aggression on Qatar    French PM François Bayrou loses crucial confidence vote in parliament    Czech Republic and allies break up Belarus spy network in Europe    Anastacia: Arnold Schwarzenegger made me sing Whatta Man 12 times    Saudi Real GDP records growth of 3.9% in Q2 2025    PIF signs MoU with Macquarie Asset Management to boost investments in infrastructure and energy transition    Thousands pay their last respects to Giorgio Armani, private funeral on Monday    French doctor goes on trial for poisoning 30 patients, 12 fatally    The key to happiness    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Row over N. Korea defectors echoes in Seoul court
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 06 - 2016

A Seoul court convened a rare hearing on Tuesday into the welfare of a dozen North Korean defectors who South Korea says escaped of their own free will but Pyongyang insists were abducted.
The closed-door session pitted officials from South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, (NIS) against a group of human rights lawyers who contend the 12 women are being illegally detained.
All 12 were waitresses at a North Korean-run restaurant in China who arrived in the South in April, making headlines as the largest group defection in years.
While Seoul says they fled to the South voluntarily, Pyongyang claims they were kidnapped by NIS agents and has waged a campaign through its state media for their immediate return.
The campaign has included emotional video interviews with the women's relatives in the North, angrily denouncing South Korean authorities and demanding a meeting with the defectors.
Seoul has rejected all such advances and insists the women are being held incommunicado for their own protection while they go through a resettlement process.
The dispute has fanned inter-Korean tensions that have been running high since the North carried out its fourth nuclear test in January.
As the court hearing opened, Japanese and South Korean media cited military and government officials as saying North Korea appeared to be preparing to test a powerful, new medium-range ballistic missile.
For all North Korean defectors, life in the South begins with intensive NIS interrogation that can last for months and is aimed at weeding out possible spies.
They are then given three months in a government center where they learn basic survival skills, such as riding the subway, using a mobile phone and buying goods in a supermarket.
Tuesday's court hearing was ordered at the request of a liberal South Korean legal association called Lawyers for a Democratic Society, which managed to obtain power-of-attorney from the defectors' families in the North.
The court had ordered the 12 waitresses to appear in person, but the NIS said they were unwilling to testify because of personal safety concerns and would be represented by legal counsel.
As well as challenging the NIS version of events surrounding the defection, the Lawyers for a Democratic Society are pushing the court to allow direct access to the women.
But that prospect appeared to dim with the announcement, before the hearing even opened, that the waitresses would be kept under NIS "protection" rather than being sent to the resettlement center like most defectors.
The Unification Ministry in Seoul said their case had become too high-profile and the escalating dispute with Pyongyang made them unusually vulnerable.
"If we send them to the facility for resettlement training, there will be more media attention and the training will not be conducted smoothly," a ministry official said.
"There are bound to be problems," the official said.
Nearly 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression at home to settle in the capitalist South.
But group defections are rare, especially by staff who work in the North Korea-themed restaurants overseas and who are handpicked from families considered "loyal" to the regime.
The South Korean government estimates that Pyongyang rakes in around $10 million every year from about 130 restaurants it operates — with mostly North Korean staff — in 12 countries, including neighboring China.
There have been reports of staff not being paid, with restaurants pressured into increasing their regular remittances to Pyongyang.
Earlier this month, South Korea announced that another three waitresses from a different restaurant in China had arrived in Seoul after defecting.


Clic here to read the story from its source.