Seven North Koreans working at a Pyongyang-owned restaurant in China reportedly intended to defect to South Korea along with 13 others last month.
 
Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the ruling Saenuri Party made the claim on Wednesday in a news briefing after a meeting with the chief of the National Intelligence Service(NIS). 
 
Lee said that the seven North Koreans gave up on defecting to the South over concerns for their families in the North. Lee said that North Korea is claiming the mass defection as a kidnapping by the NIS, but the North Korea workers voluntarily defected to the South with legitimate passports.
 
He added that some 20 overseas restaurants run by the North Korean regime have either stopped operations or closed down due to international sanctions.