North Korea’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has refused the repatriation of North Korean defectors currently imprisoned in a facility in Dandong, China, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
Last month North Korea sealed its borders with China due to fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and defectors scheduled to be repatriated to North Korea from China were also banned from returning to the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are more than 20 defectors currently imprisoned in Dandong, including a pregnant woman in her 20s,\u201d a Ryanggang Province-based source told Daily NK on Feb. 28.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The source learned about the situation from the family of the pregnant women, who, in turn, had learned about their daughter’s plight from an MSS agent responsible for the repatriation cases.<\/p>\n