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As we document in our book, the Chinese government has refused to acknowledge that North Koreans crossing the border are refugees. But the North Korean regime’s ongoing efforts to maintain controls on exit have periodically given rise to tensions between the two countries. Last June, a North Korean border guard shot and killed three Chinese citizens and wounded a fourth, prompting a formal complaint from Beijing. Earlier this month, however, North Korean border guards took the unprecedented step of pursuing a group of defectors crossing the border, killing five of them on the Chinese side and returning two more back to North Korea. Black Jack Pershing would have been proud. To date, we have seen no comment from the Chinese, perhaps suggesting tacit acceptance of this new hot pursuit strategy.
