The Unification Ministry has confirmed the report that another group of North Korean restaurant employees in China has escaped their workplace.
 
A ministry official made the confirmation in a news briefing on Tuesday, seeking understanding from reporters for the ministry’s refusal to elaborate on the North Koreans’ current whereabouts and situations.
 
They are known to be female employees of a North Korean restaurant located in Xian in Shanxi Province, China.
 
The exact number of the North Koreans remains unknown, but it is said to be around two to three. All of them are women in their 20s.
 
They are said to be staying in Thailand with an explicit intention to come to South Korea.
 
The ministry official said that the North Korean regime recruits employees of overseas restaurants through a special selection process and they can be seen as chosen members of the middle class in the North.

Just last month, a group of 13 North Koreans who had worked at a Pyongyang-owned restaurant in eastern China defected to South Korea.