North Korea has accused South Korean authorities of abducting 13 of its citizens who recently defected to the South, in an article published by state media on Tuesday.

The article published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) carries a statement of an unnamed spokesperson from North Korea’s Central Committee of the Red Cross Society.

“We sternly denounce the group abduction of the citizens of the DPRK as a hideous crime against its dignity and social system and the life and security of its citizens,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

“The recent case of ‘group defection’ cooked up by the