North Korea, Firing Machine Guns at Defectors

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported on August 27 that North Korea allegedly has fired machine guns at the country’s defectors.

The newspaper quoted Tim Peters, who founded “Helping Hands,” as saying, “A foreigner who is very much knowledgeable of the plight of the North Korean defectors said he heard gun shots in the border area,” and added, “The North Korean government is thought to have issued an order to shoot people.”

He also said, “I heard that someone saw at least two or three dead bodies floating on the Duman River,” and guessed, “They were not identified, but I think they must have defectors.” An activist of an international organization for North Korean human rights, Joanna Hosaniak, said, “I heard that the number of North Korean secret agents increased in China, and electric barb wire and extra guards have been installed in the border area.”