## Context ## In [China urges citizens in N. Korea to return home][1]: > The Chinese Embassy in North Korea has advised Korean-Chinese > residents to return home amid concern that the North's military > provocations may trigger a U.S. attack on the North, according to a > source. > > The embassy began sending the message on Apr. 20, five days before the > North celebrated the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army with > a show of military power, Radio Free Asia said Tuesday. ---------- ## Why I'm asking ## It is clear that it is illegal for Freedom of Movement for North Korean people to leave as stated in [The People’s Challenges][2]. > **No Freedom of Movement** > > It is illegal for the **North Korean people to leave their country > without the regime’s permission**, and the regime attempts to restrict > the people’s movement even inside their own country. If you wish to > travel to another part of the country, you are supposed to have a > specific purpose and obtain permission from your work unit. If you do > not live in Pyongyang, the showcase capital where most resources are > concentrated, you will likely be denied access. The regime has also > forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of North Koreans to less > favorable parts of the country as a form of punishment and political > persecution. > > *(emphasis mine)* and also by [Human Rights Watch in their World Report][3] > The government uses threats of detention, forced labor, and public > executions to ensure obedience and imposes harsh restrictions on > freedom of information and movement. It criminalizes leaving the > country without official permission, and **in some instances state > security services actively pursue North Koreans into China**, seeking to > detain and forcibly return them. > > During Kim Jong-Un’s rule, the > government has significantly expanded efforts to **stop irregular > crossings of North Koreans into China.** The government has increased > rotations of North Korean border guards, cracked down on brokers who > assist people trying to leave, and **prosecuted use of Chinese cell > phones to communicate with the outside world**. North Koreans who left > the country in 2014 and 2015 told Human Rights Watch that the > government was tracking down and publicly executing border guards who > allowed people to cross into China in exchange for bribes. > > *(emphasis mine)* ---------- Question -------- Does China have an agreement/policy (being [N Korea's biggest ally][4]) for such actions to take place (if so, *what is it*?) or would they have to escape? [1]: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/05/103_228651.html [2]: http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/learn-nk-challenges/ [3]: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/north-korea#3cd65b [4]: http://www.newsweek.com/china-north-korea-trump-allies-economy-583883