June 14, 2013 11:38
China has promised to help surviving South Korean prisoners of war who escape from North Korea return safely home to South Korea. The pledge came when Gen. Jung Seung-jo, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met his Chinese counterpart Gen. Fang Fenghui in Beijing last week.
This is the first time that China has offered help for South Korean POWs who have been held captive by North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.
A report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the National Assembly's Defense Committee after Jung's visit said China "understands" South Korea's positions on the POWs and promised "active support" in their attempts to reach the South along with the families they now have in North Korea.
The Defense Ministry believes around 500 POWs are still alive in North Korea. Pyongyang refuses to discuss their return, so those who are not too frail try to escape North Korea by any means possible.
Most of them are now in their late 80s and face difficulties reaching South Korea even if they manage to cross the border into China.
"China's pledge to aid POWs and their families marks a major step forward given Beijing's position on the matter in the past," a government official said.
Until now, the Chinese military had been reluctant to help escaping POWs for fear of harming relations with ally North Korea. "This is a symbol of the developing relationship between South Korea and China," the official added.
Fang told Jung that the Chinese people consider President Park Geun-hye as an example of a "human success story" and views her visit to China as a major step forward in bilateral relations, according to the report.
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