WASHINGTON - With signs in hand, dozens of activists and concerned citizens rallied in front of the Chinese embassy Saturday, demanding that China stop the forceful repatriation of North Koreans on North Korea Freedom Day.

|PIC1|"We really want to partner with China and help them solve this problem," said Suzanne Scholte, chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. "They are getting ready to welcome the world to the Olympics next year [and] we want to help them - let's get these people out of China and get them resettled somewhere else."

Scholte emphasised that she "completely respected" China's desire to protect its borders, but she pointed out that there are many agencies and countries that have stated their willingness to help North Korean refugees.

As examples, the freedom advocate pointed to the UN High Commission for Refugees, whose function is to help refugees such as the North Koreans. Yet China blocks the commission from leaving Beijing to interview the refugees. Moreover, both South Korea and the United States have said that they are willing to accept North Koreans as citizens.

"We don't want China burdened with these refugees but what they are doing instead is sending them back to horrible, horrible suffering," said Scholte, whose coalition sent a letter condemning the repatriation of North Koreans to the Chinese Embassy on Saturday.

At least 500,000 North Koreans have crossed the border over to China in the past 10 years to search for food or to escape a country said to have the worst human rights situation in the world. North Koreans captured by Chinese authorities are forcefully returned to their country where they face imprisonment or even execution for leaving the country - a state crime.

North Korean women face the additional danger of being trafficked in China as wives or sex slaves. According to Scholte, over 80 percent of North Korean women refugees are being trafficked.

Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA president and CEO, in addition to calling on greater UNHCR involvement in the North Korean refugee crisis, said there is a great need to include religious freedom and human rights in its negotiation with North Korea "otherwise it is a betrayal of one of our basic rights."

"We have to hold China's face to the light and feet to the fire," said the Christian ministry head, who was in the China-North Korea border region earlier this month. "If the world doesn't stand up and hold China accountable in its policy on repatriation, then it is responsible for the death of thousands every year."

Keeping with tradition, this year's rally included a time to read names of North Korean refugees or humanitarian workers captured and imprisoned in China or North Korea. This year, two people whose names were read in last year's list were present at the rally. One of the person was Choi Yong-Hun, a South Korean businessman and humanitarian worker who was imprisoned by Chinese authorities for four years for helping North Korean refugees escape China by boat.

"We will continue to press on it because we believe that the Chinese people are on our side and when they see what is going on they will pressure their government to stop this horrible repatriation policy and work with the international community," concluded Scholte.

"The more people who see the suffering that is going on the more will just be outraged that this is going on in a country like China that wants to be a world leader."