UN, Sending Jang’s Family Back To North Korea Is ``Absolutely Unthinkable ``

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regional representative Colin Mitchell said yesterday that ``we are discussing with the Chinese government to solve the case of Lee Dong-Hak and his 7 family members, who requested for an asylum, as soon as possible`` at the meeting with reporters on the first floor of the Tawian apartment in which the UNHCR office resides. Representative Mitchell added that ``it is absolutely unthinkable to return Lee’s family back to North Korea. We did not contact North Korean diplomats with regard to the issue of Lee family.`` Two men, wearing blue suits with Kim Il-Sung badge on top, who looked like North Korean diplomats, left the UNHCR building hastily when they faced a crowd of reporters at 10:00 am yesterday. The Chinese media, including Shinwha News, has not reported the state of Lee’s family at all.

Meanwhile, the foreign press forecasts that the Chinese government will enforce the border guarding as well as the crackdown of the North Korean defectors upon the Lee family incident. Therefore, the activities of the private organizations, which support the North Korean defectors, are anticipated to shrink.

Lee Jong-Hwan ljhzip@donga.com