More than 100 North Koreans have gone missing while attempting to flee the country.

Illustrative photo from open sources

More than 100 North Koreans have gone missing after being caught by secret police while trying to flee the country.

Reuters reports this, citing a report by the human rights group Transition Justice Working Group.

The group identified 113 people in 66 disappearance cases, including archival cases.

Of the 113 people, 90 disappeared after being detained in North Korea, the rest – in China or Russia. The report notes that nearly 40% went missing after being caught trying to escape from North Korea, while another 26% took the blame for another family member's crimes. More than 81% of people disappeared after being detained by the Ministry of State Security, the North Korean secret police.

Reuters recalls that the United Nations estimates that up to 200,000 people are held in North Korea's vast network of gulags, many of them for political reasons.

Prepared by: Sergei Daga