WASHINGTON — The senior US official for North Korea discussed the country with her Chinese counterpart in Tokyo on Thursday (May 9), and expressed concerns about the forcible repatriation of North Koreans from China, the US State Department said.

The discussions between Jung Pak and China's Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming followed a visit to Beijing last month by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the department said in a statement

Pak noted North Korea's "provocative and irresponsible rhetoric toward its neighbours," and stressed concern about its deepening military co-operation with Russia. She said Russia's veto of a mandate extension for a UN panel that monitored North Korea sanctions would hamper efforts to implement UN Security Council resolutions, the statement said.

"She also expressed continued US concerns regarding the forcible repatriation of North Koreans, including asylum seekers, to the DPRK and called on Beijing to uphold its non-refoulement obligations," the statement, said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name.

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