A U.S. Web site on the North Korean economy says China in 2003 retrieved the corpses of 56 North Koreans who were apparently shot dead while trying to defect.

North Korea Economy Watch released Sunday an official document issued by a Chinese police station in Baishan, Jilin Province.

The document said Chinese police found 56 corpses on October 3, 2003, around the Yalu River near the North's border with China.

The 56 defectors were known to have included seven children and shod dead, which the document said is evidence that they were shot by North Korean border guards when attempting to sneak into China.

The bodies were cremated Oct. 6th in Baishan.