Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho has urged China to help North Korean defectors move to a country of their choice.

The minister made the call on Monday during a forum jointly organized by the ministry and the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In a keynote speech at the forum, Minister Kim asked Beijing to actively cooperate in ensuring that the human rights of escapees are protected and to assist them in traveling on to the country of their choice.

Voicing opposition to the forcible repatriation of escapees, the minister stressed the Seoul government’s position that it will accommodate all defectors who wish to enter South Korea.

Noting the government’s basic position against changing the status quo by force, Kim said that Seoul is making efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea and peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and cooperation.

He added that if the international community solidifies its unified front and continues with sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang, the regime will have no choice but to change.

He went on to say that any wrong decision by the North will be met with immediate and resolute deterrence through trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

[Photo : YONHAP News]