China cracks down on North Korean defectors with biometric surveillance

SEOUL/BEIJING –
Border police in China’s northeast have been given quotas to determine and expel undocumented migrants — one key side of broader surveillance that’s making it more durable for North Korean defectors to evade seize, in accordance with beforehand undisclosed official paperwork and a dozen individuals aware of the matter.

China has carried out new deportation facilities, lots of of good facial-recognition cameras and further boat patrols alongside its 1,400-kilometer frontier with North Korea, in accordance with a evaluation of greater than 100 publicly obtainable authorities paperwork that define spending on border surveillance and infrastructure.

In addition, Chinese police have begun to intently monitor the social media accounts of North Koreans in China, and accumulate their fingerprints, voice and facial information, 4 defectors and two missionaries have mentioned.