New | Senior North Korean officials aren't fleeing to China after Jang's execution: South Korea
South Korean government denies rumours that associates of executed North Korea's No 2 leader Jang Song-thaek fled to China
The South Korean government has officially denied reports that associates of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's executed uncle have fled to China.
On Thursday, Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, dismissed media reports about an exodus of high-level North Korean officials associated with Jang Song-thaek, Pyongyang’s former No 2 leader. Jang was executed for treason on December 12.
“We reconfirm that local media reports on senior North Korean officials fleeing to China are not true,” said Kim Ui-do, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry.
The announcement comes after Seoul came under fire for initially giving what critics called a vague response, saying it “knew nothing” of such rumours.
The foreign ministry has also denied reports of senior North Korean officials defecting from the Stalinist country.
Previous media reports claimed that two North Korean vice premiers had arrived in Beijing trying to seek asylum in South Korea and that some 70 associates of Jang Song-thaek had escaped to China.