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President Lee Jae Myung on Friday raised exploring the possibility of repatriating long-term unconverted prisoners in South Korea to North Korea via China, amid stalled inter-Korean negotiations. “Even if we try to send them back to the North, there is no reaction from North Korea,” Lee said during a policy briefing from the Ministry of Unification. Lee was referring to Seoul’s proposal to repatriate North Korean prisoners, which Pyongyang has not responded to. While acknowledging that direct repatriation through Panmunjom would be ideal, Lee suggested enabling such prisoners to return to the North by transiting through China, potentially by flying to Pyongyang from a Chinese city such as Shenyang. “We are at a stage where such options — for example, going through Shenyang — are being considered,” Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said. However, Chung emphasized that the primary challenge is whether North Korea is willing to receive the individuals. Lee responded that such risks should be borne by the individuals themselves. “Our role is to send them; if they are not accepted and must return, that is beyond our control,” he said. “They wish to return to their hometowns. We should not block them but open the way for them.” Lee also raised concerns about other humanitarian issues, including the fate of South Korean abductees, detainees and prisoners of war in North Korea. He noted that despite consistent efforts to bring them back, Pyongyang has shown little to no cooperation — even during periods of active inter-Korean dialogue. “Now that communication channels have completely broken down, there seems to be nothing more we can do,” he said. submitted by /u/Substantial-Owl8342 |
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