Residency ID rumors spark hope for North Korean defectors in China
Rumors that China may soon issue permanent residency ID cards to North Korean defectors are spreading rapidly across the country's northeast. The rumors have...
In China, North Koreans hear they’re the poor ones
North Korean authorities boast of the country's rising international standing. But in 2026, a very different story is spreading among North Korean people in...
North Korean defectors in China alarmed as Kuaishou messages reach police
Chinese authorities are monitoring North Korean defectors through Kuaishou, a popular Chinese short-video and messaging platform, raising alarm among defectors hiding in China.
According to...
TB cases among North Korean overseas workers put Chinese factories on alert
Multiple North Korean workers recently deployed to factories in northeastern China have tested positive for tuberculosis, raising serious doubts about the reliability of pre-departure...
China recruits North Korean defectors as informants to trap escape brokers
Chinese police are recruiting North Korean defectors living in China as informants and using them to infiltrate defector escape networks, leading to the arrest...
North Korean street food finds market across the border in China
Ethnic Chinese residents of North Korea are carrying Chongjin-made soy meat and fried tofu across the border into China and selling them there, turning...
North Korea’s China consulates hit with sweeping inspection, pre-dawn raids
North Korea's consulates in China were subjected to a sweeping inspection last month, with auditors conducting unannounced pre-dawn searches of staff residences on multiple...
North Korea resumes overseas labor deployment to China amid warming bilateral ties
Hundreds of North Korean workers entered China through the border city of Dandong in April 2026, in an unprecedented resumption of overseas labor deployment...
When one North Korean defector disappears in China, police round up everyone they know
Chinese police have sharply intensified surveillance of North Korean defectors living in China, summoning and interrogating entire social networks whenever a single individual goes...
North Korean candy finds a market in China as defectors seek a taste of...
North Korean candy and snacks are quietly finding a market in northeastern China, where defectors, longing for home, are buying them despite prices that...
