China has said that 13 North Korean restaurant workers who defected to South Korea last week had been working in China and had left legally.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the 13 had submitted the right documents to exit China and went to S Korea.
China tends to view North Koreans who escape across its border as illegal economic migrants and sends them back.
The group are now in South Korea, which provides an aid and adjustment package for all North Koreans who defect.
