Communist China has recently returned about 500 people to North Korea who had been arrested while trying to flee the despotic regime of Kim Jong Un, the Christian Post reports.

The 500 which included many Christians had fled North Korea during the COVID pandemic and were trying to escape to South Korea via China.

The group, particularly the Christians, will along with their families face severe and torturous imprisonment and even death in North Korea’s notorious labor camps.

The J.M. Missionary Union, which tries to rescue North Koreans, said the 500 were returned to North Korea shortly after the Hangzhou Asian Games as part of an agreement worked out between North Korea and Communist China authorities.

According to the Center for Religious Liberty, there may be upwards of 50,000 North Koreans in China.

Even those, who have not been detained by Chinese authorities, face an equally difficult time. In an op-ed for the Christian Post, Arielle Del Turco explained the plight of many North Korean women in China:

“One female defector stated that North Korean women in China are “treated worse than dogs.” There is ample evidence to support this claim. Most North Korean defectors are women, and a majority of female North Korean defectors are tricked or forced into human trafficking. Many are sold to Chinese men to marry, forced into prostitution, or forced into online sexual exploitation in which people pay to access their live streams.”

READ: China repatriates 500 North Korean escapees after Asian Games AND ‘Don’t forget the North Korean defectors stuck in China’: Enduring exploitation, they long for freedom