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The government is making swift changes in its policy to unlimitedly allow North Korean defectors to come to South Korea. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said during a meeting with the ministry¡¯s senior officials Monday, ¡°It is very troublesome that non-governmental organizations shift responsibility on the government when they face difficulties in handling the North Korean defector issue.¡±
Ban¡¯s remarks is interpreted in the same context as yesterday¡¯s request of Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, "For South Korean NGOs involved in assisting defectors to go beyond helping defectors and induce or encourage defection from the North does not coincide with the policies of intra-Korean reconciliation and may adversely affect relations between the two Koreas... We ask for restraint." Accordingly, it is expected that mass entrances of North Korean defectors into South involving NGOs would be carried out selectively, or that entry into South Korea would grow difficult.
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North Korean defectors look through the bus windows with curious faces, after arriving at a military airport in Seongnam on July 27./Yonhap
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The government has shifted its policy toward North Korean defectors after the spokesperson of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said, ¡°Some NGOs encourage or threaten our people to flee from North Korea and sell them. They should pay for their acts of international human trafficking.¡± Therefore, some people criticize the government for failing to protect its citizens.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shin Bong-kil, Minister Ban said at the meeting, ¡°It is difficult for the government¡¯s diplomatic officials to limitlessly take responsibility for North Korean defectors who roam around China and enter neighboring countries.¡± ¡°It is impossible for 765 diplomats residing abroad to take care of the safety of 6 million Korean people living abroad and Korean overseas travelers whose numbers amount to 7 million a year. The Foreign Ministry has to set realistic goals now.¡±
In connection with Minister Ban¡¯s remarks, a government official said, ¡°The government¡¯s stance is that it is troublesome if NGOs plan massive defections of North Korean people and get in the way of the intra-Korean dialogue, which is going smoothly.¡±
(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )
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