BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s top official in charge of relations with North Korea on Tuesday asked China to quickly send North Korean defectors to South Korea.

Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea.

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik sought cooperation from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to ensure that “North Korean defectors can quickly come to South Korea based on their free will.”

As Pyongyang’s key ally, China does not recognize North Korean defectors and repatriates them back to their homeland, where they could face harsh punishment and even execution, according to defectors and activists.

Still, Beijing has allowed defectors in high-profile cases to leave for South Korea in an apparent move to avoid international criticism.

Yang told Yu that China will handle defectors in accordance with domestic and international laws as well as humanitarian principles.

The comments come as a stream of North Koreans continues to cross the border into China for eventual defections to South Korea, home to more than 22,700 North Korean defectors, according to defectors and activists.

Some North Koreans have crossed the inter-Korean sea border to seek refuge in the South in recent years. Defectors and experts said the North’s chronic poverty and political oppression are spurring the defections.

South Korea has a longstanding policy to accept any North Korean defectors who want to live in the South.

Yang also called for diplomatic efforts to resume the long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs.

North Korea has repeatedly called for a quick resumption of the talks without any preconditions, but Seoul and Washington insist that Pyongyang halt its uranium enrichment program and allow U.N. inspectors back into the country before resuming the talks.

The talks, which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, were last held in Beijing in late 2008.