Europe helps secure release of 11 North Korean defectors held in Vietnam

A group of 11 North Koreans who were detained in Vietnam while seeking to defect to South Korea have been released thanks to the help of European institutions, a Seoul-based activist group said on Saturday.

The eight women and three men were caught by border guards in northern Vietnam in late November after crossing from China, and had been held in the northeastern border city of Lang Son.

Peter Jung, who heads the group helping the refugees, Justice for North Korea, said they were freed and on their way to South Korea last month. Multiple European organisations played a key role, he said. He declined to identify them due to the diplomatic sensitivity but said they included a non-government group.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that US officials, including diplomats engaged in denuclearisation talks with North Korea, intervened to secure the defectors' release, citing unidentified sources.