By Yi Whan-woo



The United States is apparently intervening in China's repatriation of North Korean refugees amid a tug of war between the two world powers over how to press Pyongyang harder.



A report released by the U.S Department of State, Tuesday, repeatedly referred to China's forcible return of North Korean defectors as a reason for putting Beijing on the list of the world's worst offenders in human trafficking.



Titled "2017 Trafficking in Persons Report," the 454-page document listed China under "Tier 3," the lowest category in assessment of individual countries' fight against human trafficking. This is the first time since 2014 that China joined the category, slipping from "Tier 2" or the "Watch List."



Among the 23 blacklisted countries were North Korea, Burundi, Iran, Russia and South Sudan.



"Authorities continued to forcibly repatriate North Koreans, where they faced severe punishment including forced labor and execution, without screening them for indicators of trafficking," the report said.



It accused the Chinese government of failing to report whether legal alternatives to repatriation were available for suspected trafficking victims, as they faced severe punishment or death back home.



Regarding exploitation of North Korean women in China, the report said they are "subjected to forced prostitution, forced marriage, and forced labor in agriculture, domestic service, and factories."



Citing a 2015 U.N. report, it also claimed that North Korea's state-sponsored slave workers are present in China "possibly with the knowledge of Chinese officials."



The report recommended China to "provide alternatives to foreign victims' removal to countries where they would face hardship or retribution, particularly North Korea."



In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Thae Yong-ho, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, said China has been concerned about possible influx of North Koreans across the border and collapse of the Kim Jong-un regime should Beijing acknowledges them as refugees.



"The report reflects Washington's discontent on Beijing's measures concerning asylum seekers from North Korea," said Koh You-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University. "As socialist allies, China regards North Korean defectors as trespassers, not refugees. But the U.S. has regarded such a view as opposite to international law."



Lee Sang-man, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, echoed a similar view, saying, "human rights-related issues are something that the U.S. brings up at the last moment when it is disgruntled with China."



"Washington must have been displeased with Beijing in their joint efforts to press Pyongyang harder and the U.S. appears to have other intentions behind its blacklisting China," he added.



Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy, speculated that the U.S. is asking China to rein on North Korean human rights on the occasion of the death of Otto Warmbier, an American captive who died after being released from North Korea in a coma early this month.



"It's not coincidental that Washington is addressing issues on China's human rights conditions, over which Beijing has reacted extremely sensitively.".



