Human rights activists reported a crackdown on North...

Human rights activists reported a crackdown on North Korean refugees entering China over its northern border, as well as the arrest of South Korean missionaries who try to help them.
North Korea appears close to collapse amid warnings by the UN that food donations for the country's 19million people are running out. So far in 2002, more than 200 North Koreans have fled to the south, telling tales of starvation and cannibalism due to a decade-long famine. Refugees forcibly returned from China face imprisonment, forced labour and sometimes execution.
The Mongolian Government reported recently that increasing numbers of North Koreans were crossing its borders from China, seeking help in getting to South Korea.