Beijing - China yesterday allowed a family of seven North Koreans to leave the country after spending three days in the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Beijing, writes Miriam Donohoe.
The asylum-seekers arrived later yesterday in Singapore, according to a UN official.
UNHCR officials in Beijing said earlier that the Chinese, who refused to recognise the family as refugees, had allowed them to leave because of health concerns which they said could be more adequately addressed elsewhere. Diplomats said that by raising the health issue, China had sought to avoid angering its ally North Korea and to avoid a potential flood of asylum-seekers across its land border with the famine-stricken North Korea.
South Korea yesterday welcomed the Chinese decision and said it would work closely with the UNHCR to ensure the family settled in a safe place.