Hundreds of North Korean Defectors at Risk After China’s Mass Deportation

China has forcibly returned as many as 600 North Korean refugees back into the hands of the repressive government they had successfully fled, human rights groups say. Behind the veil of the reclusive country’s border, the individuals, repatriated against their will, are at high risk of imprisonment, forced labor, torture and even execution, activists and family members told Newsweek. They have called on the United States and others to put pressure on Beijing to end the practice. The mass deportation—the largest of its kind by China since North Korea reopened its borders after the pandemic—took place on October 9, according…