The Foreign Ministry has decided it will promptly dispatch working-level officials to China following the news that 35 North Korean defectors arrested there are in danger of being repatriated to the North.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan explained Wednesday morning at an emergency consultative meeting with ruling Grand National Party officials that the North Koreans may be sent back to the North Soon.

The ministry said it would ask for cooperation with China and allow the defectors to reach a third country depending on their choice.

The ministry said two of the 35 are North Korean defectors who settled in the South and gained South Korean citizenship. The ministry also said that it is working on finding out if elderly people and minors are included among the group.