Authorities in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning have formally arrested two South Korean Protestant pastors accused of trying to help North Koreans flee across the border into China.
Neither pastor has been named. One was arrested along with his wife in February as they tried to board a plane for South Korea from Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong, while the second was detained at a hotel in the northeastern city of Qinhua-ngdao, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
While both wives have since been released, the two pastors remain in police detention.
Peter Chung, spokesman for the human rights group Justice for North Korea, said their families have hired lawyers to represent the pastors, now that the cases look set to proceed to trial.
“The cases are now with the state prosecutor’s office; all the files are with the prosecutor now,” Chung told RFA on April 5. “This was approved on March 29.”
