Three Chinese detention centers known or suspected to hold North Korean escapees have undergone extensive renovation during the pandemic, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, raising the possibility that China is increasing its capacity to detain defectors ahead of their forced repatriation.

The expansion of the facilities comes as experts have expressed fears about a rise in defectors detained in China since 2020, when the DPRK closed its border to keep out COVID-19. The U.N. special rapporteur for North Korean human rights estimated last year that over 1,500 North Koreans are languishing in Chinese prisons. [/p