Following the news that a U.S. court granted political asylum to Seo Jae-sok, a North Korean defector who is now a South Korean citizen, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has begun verification of why the court did so.

The ministry expressed doubts about the reasoning that Seo was granted political asylum because he had been jailed and tortured in North Korea and because he could be politically persecuted if repatriated to the North.

Under international law, one can only be grated political asylum when he is facing a present danger, not a past one. A South Korean government official said Seo is now a South Korean citizen and there is little danger of him being repatriated to the North.