Commentary China is forcing North Korean refugees back to the Hermit Kingdom, which almost certainly detains and tortures them, or worse, upon their arrival. This violates international laws against the forcible return of refugees, known as refoulement, and provides yet another reason to sanction China economically, including towards a gradual yet complete economic decoupling at some point in the future. According to the Financial Times on July 23, more than 1,100 North Koreans detained in China could be returned to the Kim Jong-un regime, where they would almost certainly be tortured by security officials. Those North Korean refugees detained in China include 450 men imprisoned in Changchun, Jilin Province, 325 in Tumen city, 47 in Changbai county, 104 in Linjiang, 180 in Dandong, and 64 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, according to a July 22 post by Lina Yoon, a senior researcher in the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “Concerns …