A London-based non-profit organization says a large number of North Korean women who fled their home country are pushed into prostitution or forced marriages in China. 

The Korea Future Initiative made the claim on Monday as it released a report titled “Sex Slaves: The Prostitution, Cybersex and Forced Marriage of North Korean Women and Girls in China.” 

After interviewing more than 45 victims and relief organization officials, the report estimated that 60 percent of female North Korean escapees in China are trafficked into the sex trade. Of that number, close to 50 percent are forced into prostitution, over 30 percent sold into forced marriages and 15 percent pressed into cybersex. 

The report said most of the victims were aged between 12 and 29 and that many were sold more than once and forced into at least one form of sexual slavery within a year of leaving their homeland. 

In particular, the report estimated that the exploitation of female North Korean escapees generates annual profits of at least 105 million U.S. dollars for the Chinese underworld.