South Korea called out China for its role in the forced repatriation of North Koreans during the U.N.’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Tuesday, marking the first time Seoul has criticized Beijing during a UPR meeting for failing to protect North Korean escapees.

“We recommended that China provides adequate protection to escapees of foreign origin, including from the DPRK,” the ROK ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Yun Seong-deok, said during the session. 

“We also recommend that China respects relevant international laws, such as the principle of non-refoulement,” Yun continued. “We further recommend that China considers adopting a national refugee