North Korean women being sold in China

SEOUL - Young female refugees from North Korea are increasingly
becoming a commodity in China, where they can be sold for up to
US$1,500 ($2,070) a head, according to a Seoul campaigner.

The human trafficking has become more prevalent amid a shortage of Chinese
women in the countryside, said Reverend Chun Ki-Won, who has helped
more than 900 North Koreans escape from China.

He said women make up around 80 per cent of the tens of thousands of North Koreans
hiding in China, with over 90 per cent of them falling victim to human
trafficking.

Chinese brokers bribe the North's border guards to let the women through, the pastor said - usually between 500 yuan
($101) and 1,000 yuan for each person.

The women who make it through face one of two fates: Marriage to a farmer - often elderly or
disabled - or taking their clothes off for online sex shows.

"The Chinese government does not recognise children whose mother is not
registered," Rev Chun said. "If the mother runs away or is taken back
to North Korea, the children are left with nothing - no nationality, no
parents and no identity." AFP

http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC100514-0000092/North-Korean-wom...