China pressed to stop repatriating North Koreans at UN parley marked by clashes with US and Japan
China failed to halt UN Security Council meeting on human rights abuses before side event at which North Korean woman told of her repatriation ordeal
China clashed with the US and Japan at the United Nations as it faced calls from members of the international peacekeeping body to stop repatriating North Koreans.
A UN Security Council meeting on human rights abuses, which China unsuccessfully tried to halt, was followed by a side event in which a North Korean woman recounted her repatriation ordeal in graphic detail and human rights advocates warned that North Korean officials might face international charges of crimes against humanity.
“We had members [of the UN Security Council] that said we didn’t need to bring this up for debate,” Washington’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said at the UN side event, held immediately after the Security Council meeting.
“We heard members today say that they were worried that this would cause additional warfare by North Korea. There’s millions of other people that want to get out, and so if there’s nothing else we do inside [North Korea], I hope that we’ll have a conversation about repatriation because we may not be able to do anything on the inside,” Haley said.
“But if they have the courage and if they take the chance, and they do flee North Korea, we should try to find a solution for them on the outside.”