The Laotian Foreign Ministry has justified its recent deportation of young North Korean escapees, arguing it cannot recognize the political asylum of minors.

In an interview with Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency in the capital of Vientiane on Tuesday, the Laotian Foreign Ministry’s public relations official said that two South Koreans crossed the border to enter Laos along with juvenile North Koreans, calling the act “human trafficking."

The official added that North Korea did not exert political influence over the repatriation issue and Pyongyang-Vientiane relations did not affect the decision.

A South Korean government official and experts said that the Laotian government's stance on the issue is not in line with the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A Foreign Ministry official also pointed out that there was no problem in sending the North Korean defectors to South Korea as they should be considered "refugees sur place,” or people who become refugees after leaving their home country.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Cho Tae-young said Tuesday that the South Korean government strongly demands North Korea ensure the safety of the nine repatriated escapees.

He said that the government will raise the North Korean escapee issue at a meeting of a UN human rights agency in Geneva early morning Wednesday, Korea time.

The nine young North Korean are reportedly being detained at a guesthouse near Pyongyang.