Two North Korean defectors hold a sign, urging North Korea to stop forcibly repatriate North Koreans, in London, Jan. 17. Yonhap

A United Nations working group has concluded that China's repatriation of North Korean defectors last year constitutes an "arbitrary deprivation of liberty" and urged China and North Korea to take steps to address the issue, a document showed Wednesday.

The U.N. Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted the opinions during an August session, in response to a petition filed on behalf of Kim Cheol-ok, a North Korean national, the document showed.

Kim was among hundreds of North Korean escapees deported by China to their home country following the conclusion of the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October last year, as part of its internationally criticized mass repatriation of North Korean refugees.

Kim's family living outside North Korea, with the help of a human rights group, submitted the petition requesting that the working group determine whether Kim's repatriation constitutes arbitrary detention.

The working group cited China's failure to inform Kim of the reasons and charges for her arrest, determining that her arrest and repatriation were "arbitrary" actions that violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also determined that the arrest and detention of the escapees, including Kim, by North Korean authorities "are arbitrary as they resulted from the individuals' exercise of their rights" under the declaration and covenant.

"The appropriate remedy would be to release Ms. Kim immediately and accord her with an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law," the WGAD said, urging "steps necessary to remedy the situation without delay."

The group also urged China and North Korea to ensure "a full and independent investigation of the circumstances" and to "take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of Kim's rights."

The working group referred Kim's case to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for "appropriate action."

The WGAD is currently reviewing the cases of three South Korean Christian missionaries — Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil — who are currently detained after being taken into custody in North Korea between 2013 and 2015 on spy charges to determine if their detentions constitute arbitrary detention. (Yonhap)