Eight North Korean escapees were reportedly detained by Chinese authorities last week. 

Quoting a North Korean defector who escaped to South Korea in 2014, Voice of America(VOA) reported on Friday that the defector's mother, a son and a daughter were arrested along with a woman in her 20s by Chinese police last Tuesday in the Chinese southern city of Nanning on the border with Vietnam.

The defector, identified only by the surname Kim, said the whereabouts of the arrested four are unknown.

VOA said another four North Korean escapees were recently apprehended by Chinese authorities on Saturday in Shenyang near the border with North Korea.