A U.S. Congressman has expressed concern over China's policy on North Korean defectors, accusing Beijing of failing to live up to international standards of responsibility on the matter.

James Leach, who chairs the Congressional Executive Commission on China, said in a briefing Tuesday that the commission was also concerned about official corruption as well as the Chinese government's increasing repression of religious freedom among Muslims, Christians and Tibetan Buddhists.

Leach made the remarks in the commission's Annual Report for 2004, which offers a "snapshot" of current human rights conditions in China.

He said the commission has also established a database that will provide reliable information on political prisoners in China.