Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun reiterated Thursday that North Koreans illegally residing or being detained in China should be treated in a humanitarian way.

In a regular briefing, Jeong said repatriating a North Korean asylum seeker against his or her will runs counter to the principle of humanitarianism. He vowed to cooperate with China in exerting efforts to have such North Koreans, if they wish, come to South Korea.

Jeong