U.N. envoy voices fears on North Korea-Russia extradition pact

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights investigator for North Korea called on Russia on Friday not to uphold a new extradition treaty with Pyongyong, voicing fears that North Koreans seeking asylum could be forced back home in violation of international law. An estimated 10,000 North Koreans are regular labourers in Russia, and some stay after their contracts have expired to seek asylum, said Marzuki Darusman, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "Given the practice of the DPRK to send labourers to Russia, who often work in slave like conditions, it is feared that such a treaty could also be used to capture and repatriate workers who attempt to seek asylum," he said in a statement in Geneva. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alison Williams)