麻豆约拍

The sister of a North Korean defector has expressed her anguish to Newsday over the fate of her sibling, who she believes has been deported back to North Korea.

Kim Kyu-li says that in 1998, her sister Kim Cheol-ok was following her to China where she had already defected. Cheol-ok had been getting help to escape North Korea by a broker. However, Kyu-li says her sister was sold just hours after her arrival and forced to marry a much older Chinese man. After that, she didn't hear from her for two decades.

Then in 2020, with the help of a tech-savvy relative, Kyu-li managed to find her in a Chinese chat group and Cheol-ok sent pictures of herself confirming her identity. Kyu-il learnt that her sister was never given a visa to work in China and had a baby when she was 16. But hopes of a reunion have been dashed as now her sister is missing again. Kyu-il's been told that she was detained in China earlier this year and has been deported back to North Korea. She's desperate to find out what's happened to her.

There are mounting concerns for thousands of North Korean defectors held in detention centres across China. It's thought by the Seoul-based human rights NGO, Transitional Justice Working Group, that many North Korean dissidents could be rounded up, deported back to North Korea and disappear.

Photo shows Kim Kyu-li, sister of Kim Cheol-ok who has disappeared in North Korea. Credit: Kim Kyi-li

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