Angelina Jolie, the goodwill ambassador for a U.N. refugee agency, expressed concerns Wednesday about North Korean defectors facing persecution when repatriated and said she hoped to work to improve the situation.
The actress, in Seoul on a promotion tour for her new spy thriller "Salt," said she met earlier in the day with representatives in Korea from
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and talked about the matter.
"They spoke a lot about the concerns about people being persecuted when they are sent back to North Korea," she said, "I know all of you are
(concerned), as well, and you have been doing a great deal to help them ... I'm just in solidarity with all of you."
As the goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR, Jolie has visited Iraq, Thailand, Pakistan, Iraq, India and most recently quake-hit Haiti on behalf
of the U.N. refugee agency. The star said she was impressed by how South Koreans support North Korean defectors to help them adjust in the South.
"There's a lot of news about tension between the North and the South, but there's not much about how much care and support they continue to give to North Korea," she said. "I learned today they give citizenship when they (North Koreans) cross into South Korea. I think that's extraordinary. People don't know that."
Hundreds of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China after fleeing their impoverished home country. Thousands of them make it to South Korea every year, but those who are sent back are said to
face harsh persecution, including execution. China, the North's major ally, does not acknowledge them as refugees but as economic migrants.
About 20,000 North Korean defectors have settled in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.
In the film directed by Phillip Noyce, Jolie plays CIA agent Evelyn Salt, who is accused of being a Russian spy. The movie's opening scene is a North Korean prison, where Jolie is held captive and tortured by prison guards.
The actress said she and her children "love" Korean pop singer Rain, who played a lead role in the Hollywood action flick "Ninja Assassin."
"You can confirm that," she said with a smile. "The children are interested, and the mom thinks he's cool, also," Jolie arrived on a chartered flight from Tokyo late Tuesday with four of her six children, her first visit to Korea. She will attend a red carpet ceremony and a premier at a Seoul theater. "Salt" will be released here on
Thursday.