ANKARA

South Korea has submitted questions to the United Nations seeking answers from China over repatriation of North Korean citizens, local media said on Thursday. 

Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Beijing's universal periodic review (UPR) is expected later this month and Seoul submitted a set of questions to ask China.

"Our written questions include one on the refugee application procedure that is accessible to defectors from abroad, including North Korea," Seoul-based Yonhap News quoted ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk as saying during a regular press briefing.

Under the UPR mechanism, UN review the human rights record of every member country after 4.5 years.

This year, the China record review is expected on Jan. 23.

Seoul in its question raised the issue of North Koreans crossing into China for work and Beijing's repatriating them, who it called "illegal immigrants," according to the report.

This is first time South Korea submitted written questions to the UN on China's UPR.

According to the ministry, they also asked a question about ways to protect North Korean women and their children born in China, who are exposed to human trafficking, forced marriage and other form of exploitation.

Last month, a South Korean human rights group, Transitional Justice Working Group, claimed that Beijing has deported around 600 North Koreans in October last year.

Earlier, UN human rights experts also expressed concern over North Koreans' repatriation and called on Beijing to respect the principle of "non-refoulement" guaranteed under international law.

"We are alarmed by reports we have received that China has forcibly repatriated hundreds of escapees from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the vast majority of whom are women, despite appeals repeatedly made by multiple international human rights bodies to refrain from doing so," the experts said in a statement in October last year.   

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid