[ Courtesy of Unification Ministry]
Seoul rejected Pyongyang's proposal Thursday that a direct interview should be arranged for the families of 13 workers who have deserted their state-controlled restaurant in China to find a better life in South Korea.
The North Korean workers including a male manager and 12 female staff flew into Seoul in early April. North Korea has accused South Korea of abducting them against their will.
In a Red Cross statement published through state media on Thursday, North Korea demanded that the workers' parents should be allowed to meet their children at the border truce village of Panmunjom or in Seoul.
The South's unification ministry in charge of cross-border affairs said it would not respond to the North's request.
"The 13 North Korean restaurant workers arrived here after escaping from North Korea of their own will. North Korea's allegation that they were abducted is groundless," the ministry said in a statement.
The defection came as relations between Pyongyang and its mentor and traditional ally, Beijing, went sour over North Korea's defiant push for nuclear and missile programs.
Before coming to Seoul, the defectors had been under strong pressure from Pyongyang to transmit more money to their homeland, South Korean officials said, adding many North Korean restaurants are now in a financial pinch because of strengthened UN sanctions which followed Pyongyang's nuclear and long-range rocket tests.
North Korean restaurants abroad have served as one of Pyongyang's important sources of hard currency. South Korean government data showed there are about 130 North Korean restaurants operating in a dozen countries. Pyongyang operates dozens of restaurants in China alone.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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