North Korea and China have reportedly stepped up their crackdown on North Korean defectors in China.

Chinese authorities in Helong City in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture have arrested a group operating in Helong that had been helping North Koreans defect.

The authorities have been expanding the range of their investigations and it is known that 14 North Korean defectors were caught in late May. They had been hiding in Helong and Yanji after crossing the Tumen River into China.

This is the first time in several years that a group this large has been caught at the same time in China.