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60 North Korean refugees arrested in China
Seoul, Jan 20: Chinese police arrested 60 North Korean refugees shortly before they were to be smuggled out of China by boat and taken to South Korea and Japan, an international aid worker said today.
Seoul, Jan 20: Chinese police arrested 60 North Korean refugees shortly before they were to be smuggled out of China by boat and taken to South Korea and Japan, an international aid worker said today.
The North Koreans were detained at Yentai Port INF China's Jilin province on Saturday as they were about to board two boats, said Douglas Shin, a Korean-American who is involved in helping North Koreans defect.
"They were victims of a trap set up by Chinese police," he said.
Shin said Chinese police, posing as helpers, approached the North Koreans before arresting them.
Also detained were three South Korean, including a photographer freelancing for the New York Times newspaper, he said.
Thousands of North Koreans are believed to be hiding in China after leaving their communist homeland in search of food. More than 1,200 of them defected to South Korea last year.
Bureau Report
"They were victims of a trap set up by Chinese police," he said.
Shin said Chinese police, posing as helpers, approached the North Koreans before arresting them.
Also detained were three South Korean, including a photographer freelancing for the New York Times newspaper, he said.
Thousands of North Koreans are believed to be hiding in China after leaving their communist homeland in search of food. More than 1,200 of them defected to South Korea last year.
Bureau Report