The United States has logged an official protest with Beijing against China's recent repatriation of nine North Korean defectors.
Officials say the Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping expressing his concern over recent reports of the forced repatriation.
Royce wrote the U.S. and China must work together to address the serious challenges that North Korea poses to the world, adding China should find an alternative to sending North Koreans straight back to their country where they often face severe punishment.
Nine North Koreans -- mostly in their teens were repatriated to Pyongyang from China after fleeing to Laos in the hopes of getting to South Korea.
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