South Korea holds rare court case over waitress defectors

The families and colleagues of the 12 North Korean waitresses spoke to media

A South Korean court is holding a rare hearing into the detention of 12 North Koreans who defected to the South.

A group of human rights lawyers who requested the hearing want to determine whether South Korea's continuing detention of the women is legal.

North Korea runs restaurants mainly in China as a way to earn foreign cash

The women, who worked as waitresses at a North Korea-run restaurant in China, arrived in Seoul in April.
Seoul said they came of their own free will, while Pyongyang maintains they were abducted.


The hearing will not be public and it is unclear if the women will be present to give their testimony, but it could set a precedent for how South Korea deals with the hundreds of defectors it receives every year.