China says it guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of foreigners, adding that it manages cases of illegal immigrants in line with laws as a law-governed country. 

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin revealed such a stance on Friday when asked to comment on South Korea expressing regret over recent assertions by a South Korean human rights group that the Chinese government had forcibly repatriated a number of North Korean defectors.  

Wang claimed that China is observing domestic and international laws as well as humanitarianism when handling cases of Koreans who illegally entered the country due to economic reasons.  

Wang, however, fell short of confirming whether China repatriated North Koreans.  

Earlier in the day, South Korea’s unification ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said the government believes as true reports that a large number of North Koreans in China's three northeastern provinces were repatriated. Koo then expressed regret over China’s move and said that Seoul stands by its position that North Korean defectors should not be repatriated against their will under any circumstance.