Protests against China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors are spreading in South Korea and abroad. The problem has been around for a long time but has never attracted as much domestic and global attention as it does now.

Now that the ball has started rolling, it is incumbent on government officials, politicians, civic groups and celebrities participating in the protest movement to keep up the momentum. Especially, politicians on both sides of the aisle need to pull their weight to win support from the global community.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China organized a hearing on the issue. Two North Korean defectors, Han Song-hwa and her daughter, Jo Jin-hye, who had been deported to North Korea four times before being granted asylum in the U.S. in 2008, testified vividly about the torture and sexual violence they suffered when they had been sent back to their homeland.

Jo said, for instance, that North Korean security officials felt women’s genitals with their gloved hands to search for hidden money. She added that she had fainted many times due to the various forms of abuse she suffered.

Rep. Chris Smith, who chairs the commission, urged President Barack Obama to link any food aid to the North with its handling of defectors. He also urged the international community to insist that “China honor its treaty obligations and end its egregious practice of systematic refoulement.”

The Seoul government, for its part, needs to step up diplomatic efforts. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, who is now visiting the United States, needs to seek support from the United Nations and Washington. On Wednesday, the U.S. government confirmed that it had been in consultation with China over North Korean refugees.

Seoul also needs to continue talks with Beijing on the thorny question. While Beijing still holds fast to its official stance that North Korean defectors are illegal border crossers, Seoul needs to keep pressing for a policy change.

On the domestic front, a growing number of civic groups are participating in the protests. For instance, members of the Korean Medical Women’s Association and the Korean Female Lawyers’ Association held a joint candlelight rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday.

The female doctors and lawyers said they decided to protest after learning that about 80 percent of North Korean defectors are women, who suffer sexual violence and torture at the hands of Chinese and North Korean security forces when caught.

Entertainers are playing a significant role in sensitizing the public to the issue. Some 50 singers and movie stars, including popular actor Cha In-pyo and his actress wife Shin Ae-ra, held a concert on March 4 to urge China to treat North Korean defectors more humanely.

Cha said the concert represented the start of his efforts to appeal to the global community. He said he would seek help from U2, an Irish rock band well known for their campaigns for human rights, and other foreign artists.

It would be desirable for famous K-pop groups and TV stars to join the campaign. Riding on the Korean Wave, they could help mobilize international pressure on China.

Politicians also should do their share. It is a shame that Korean lawmakers have not held a hearing on North Korean defectors yet. They also need to pass the long-delayed bill on North Korean human rights. Their failure to act on the bill is simply unforgivable, given that the United States and Japan enacted laws on human rights in North Korea in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Lawmakers’ inaction is very much the result of progressive opposition parties’ rejection of any scheme that would ruffle the North’s feathers. But their opposition contradicts their own claim to be a guardian of minority rights. They should put the lives of defectors before any ideological or political considerations.

A senior Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying on Wednesday that “China seems very uncomfortable about the issue of North Korean defectors being internationalized.” It would be rather strange if China did not feel the heat. To keep up the pressure, domestic political parties need to speak in one voice and get their act together.