China has reportedly repatriated 62 North Korean escapees who were arrested late last month during a raid on a safe house outside of Beijing.

A source familiar with the issue of North Korean asylum-seekers in China said Tuesday that the escapees had been forcibly repatriated last weekend to the North's border city of Shiniju. Chinese authorities suspect that the group was planning to seek asylum in South Korea after taking refuge in a foreign diplomatic mission in the Chinese capital.

The source said the repatriation of the group had been confirmed by their family members in the North.

On October 26th, Chinese authorities arrested the escapees along with two South Koreans activists who had allegedly assisted them in their plan to obtain asylum.