By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

North Korean asylum seekers who take refuge at South Korean diplomatic missions in China will receive better treatment under a new directive issued by the government.

The South Korean government on Wednesday sent out new guidelines on the handling of North Korean escapees to its missions in China. The directive requires more respect be given for defectors and will likely help them to be more easily transferred to South Korea via a third country.

``The gist of the directive is that we strengthen and articulate a more favorable policy position to accepting North Korean escapees on humanitarian grounds if they hope to settle in South Korea,’’ a Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry official said.

The new directive reportedly contains standard operation procedures for security guards in case of emergencies and requires that they strictly obey the head of mission even if they are Chinese. Previously, the missions had difficulty controlling the security guards properly as many belong to China’s state-run security companies.

However, the ministry official refused to specify the details of the directives due to security concerns.

``The reality is that many North Korean defectors rush to our missions in Beijing and Shenyang to seek asylum, and other missions in China are not well prepared to deal with them,’’ he said.

``The strengthened directives are designed for each South Korean diplomatic missions in China to more effectively deal with North Korean defectors when they ask for protection.’’

Senior government officials had ordered measures be prepared for missions after some North Korean escapees were unsuccessful in their attempts to get into the South Korean missions in China and were transferred to Chinese authorities.

Last month, a North Korean soldier and four other defectors separately entered the courtyard of a South Korean consulate in China but were immediately caught by Chinese security guards and taken away.

In addition to the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, there are consulates in Shenyang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr