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UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana speaks during press conference at the Seoul Press Center on Dec. 14. (Yonhap News)
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The female employees defected en masse while working at a restaurant in China last year
Visiting UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana declared that he was attempting to meet with female employees who defected en masse from a North Korean restaurant in China last year. Quintana, who arrived in South Korea for a four-day visit on Dec. 11, announced his efforts during a press conference at the Seoul Press Center on the afternoon of Dec. 14.
“It is important to confirm the exact circumstances behind this [group defection] and reach a clear conclusion,” Quintana said.
“We need to confirm whether [the employees’] decision to leave China and enter South Korea was made according to their own free will, and we need to know about their situation here in South Korea,” he added. Quintana reportedly requested cooperation along these lines during a Dec. 11 meeting with Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
In a report on the North Korean human rights situation submitted to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 18, Quintana noted conflicting claims about the circumstances behind the employees’ departure from China. At the time, he said he would pay ongoing attention to the issue, noting evidence that some of the group’s members may not have fully consented to the defection.
In Apr. 2016, the management and 12 female employees of the North Korean-run Ryugyong Restaurant in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, arrived in South Korea in a group defection. Since then, allegations have been repeatedly raised about the defection being “orchestrated.” Pyongyang has claimed that the employees were “forcibly abducted” and demanded their repatriation as a precondition for holding reunions among divided South and North Korean family members.
The Ministry of Unification said the 12 female employees “entered South Korea of their own free will,” adding that they have “established themselves here and are focusing on their studies.”
On the question of the employees meeting with Quintana, the ministry said the “opinion of the parties involved is most important.” To date, the employees have shunned contact with the outside due to concerns about the safety of their family members in North Korea.
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An image from a special feature broadcast by Nippon TV on the evening of Sep. 29, 2016, titled “Allegations about the Group Defection by North Korean Restaurant Staff,” included interviews with three waitresses at the restaurant who had returned to Pyongyang.
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