Report: North Korea executes 15 people for attempting to flee

Mar 5, 2008, 12:43 GMT

Seoul - Some 15 people were publically executed in North Korea either for attempting to flee the country or attempting to aid others in fleeing, a South Korean aid organization reported Wednesday.

The Buddhist group Good Friends said that 13 women and 2 men were executed by firing squad on a bridge in the north-eastern border town of Onsong on February 20.

Good Friends however provided no sources for the information.

The executions were meant as a warning to others considering illegally crossing the border into China, Good Friends quoted North Korean authorities as saying.

According to the aid organization, the North Korean actions caused anger among Onsong residents, as the attempted escapes were due to widespread hungry in the ara. The shootings were 'too much,' Good Friends quoted a local resident as saying.

Numerous people flee hunger or repression in North Korea to China every year. Estimates have it that between 50,000 to 300,000 North Korean refugees are resident in China, where they in general remain underground. If discovered by Chinese authorities, the refugees face deportation back to North Korea.

Human rights groups also report that many refugees fall into the hands of human traffickers.