Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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China Coronavirus Lockdown Complicates North Korea Refugee Journeys

William Gallo

   SEOUL - A vast transportation lockdown meant to contain the spread of a
   new coronavirus in central China is complicating the already grueling
   journey of North Korean refugees, according to two sources who help
   arrange North Korean defector trips.

   Chinese authorities have implemented what one World Health Organization
   official called an "unprecedented" lockdown to contain the viral
   outbreak, which has infected over 24,000 people and killed nearly 500
   worldwide.

   China has closed public transportation links, restricted access to
   major highways, and imposed strict ID and temperature checks -
   effectively placing tens of millions under quarantine in an expanding
   circle around Hubei province, where the outbreak began.

   The lockdown is disrupting the main path through which North Koreans
   escape, forcing at least dozens of refugees to indefinitely pause their
   journeys, and leaving them vulnerable in a country that has long sent
   them back home to certain punishment.

   "The road closures have blocked the route. It has all stopped -- I
   asked them not to come through that area for now," a South Korea-based
   broker who helps organize North Korean defector journeys through China,
   told VOA.

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