On July 10th, The Asahi Shimbun(朝日新聞), one of the major Japanese newspapers, featured an interview with NKDB's Director of International Cooperation, Hanna Song, on the impact of the reopening of the Sino-North Korean border and China's high-tech surveillance system on North Korean escapees.

If the Sino-North Korean border fully reopens again, it will be of great help in terms of humanitarian aid and information flow into North Korea. On the other hand, China does not recognize North Korean escapees as refugees fleeing persecution. Instead, it regards them as illegal entrants and implements a policy of forced repatriation. I made an appeal that North Korean escapees held in detention facilities in China could forcibly be repatriated to North Korea should the border reopen.

(...)

Due to the increasing number of surveillance cameras and the development of AI-based face recognition software, North Korean escapees are in great anxiety to be active outdoors in China.

As a result, many brokers refuse to guide North Korean escapees for fear of being caught.

You can read the full article on The Asahi Shimbun website (in Japanese) by clicking HERE.