A senior UN High Commissioner for Refugees official has said it would be unthinkable to repatriate seven North Koreans who sneaked into the agency's Beijing office and demanded refugee status.
"From our perspective, absolutely unthinkable, of course," UNHCR regional representative Mr Colin Mitchell told reporters when asked if it was feasible the three generations of the family of Mr Jung Tae-jun (69) be returned to North Korea.
Mr Mitchell also said the UNHCR had not been in contact with the North Korean embassy in Beijing but was continuing talks with the Chinese government and hoped for a humanitarian solution.