A Japanese daily says that since April, China has refused to allow North Korean defectors protected inside Japanese embassies in China to leave the country.

Quoting a diplomatic source and an official from a group aiding North Korean defectors, the Sankei Shimbun says some ten North Koreans remain stranded in the embassies, as China has strengthened its watch on people attempting to escape North Korea.

According to the paper, the boosted surveillance began in the fall of 2008 and no defector has been allowed to leave China since April.

In the past, China has run identity checks and allowed the North Korean defectors who are protected by the Japanese government in China to depart from the nation as a humanitarian measure.