Kim’s father Kim Un-bong, who entered Korea before the rest of the family, said in a phone call that, “I heard that my son, his wife and his two daughters went in to the civil affairs room of the Korean Consulate but my son, his wife and the elder daughter were dragged out by the guards. The younger daughter was mixed with other people but was caught by the guards 30 minutes later.”

Kim said, “My son and his family clearly stated that they were North Korean defectors when entering the civil affairs room, but the Consulate officials did not pay attention and were dragged out by the guards.”

A Foreign Affairs Ministry official explained, “A male and three females suddenly ran into the civil affairs room of the consulate. Chinese guards suspected they were dangerous people and handed them over to the Chinese security police... They did not reply when they were arrested and our diplomats did not witness the event.”

The official added “Our consulate realized the fact later and requested that Chinese police authorities reveal the identification of the defectors, but they have yet to receive an official reply.”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry official said that if the four people are determined to be North Korean defectors, the ministry will officially ask the Chinese police authorities to handle the situation so that they can come to South Korea.

(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )