China: No information on N.K. defectors' coworkers

BEIJING, April 14 (Yonhap) -- China said Thursday it has no information on the whereabouts of the North Koreans who were reportedly left behind in a mass defection last week.

On Thursday, 13 North Korean employees of a Pyongyang-run restaurant in China arrived in Seoul after traveling through Southeast Asia.

Reports emerged soon after that there were other North Koreans left behind and some may have already been repatriated to their home country where they are sure to face harsh punishment.

Speaking in a regular press briefing, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he has nothing to add to the remarks he made in a briefing earlier this week.

"I have already announced that 13 North Koreans entered China through a normal route with valid and legitimate identification cards and left China via a normal route," he said.
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