N Korean orphans hiding in China

A South Korean MP says about 50 orphans from the communist North have fled their homeland and are in hiding in China. Beijing has a policy of returning all defectors to North Korea, where they can face harsh punishment. South Korean opposition MP Park Sun-Young says the orphans fled the North Korean border city of Hyesan late last month and crossed into China. She says the children are hiding from Chinese authorities because they risk being sent back to the closed communist state if they are caught. Amnesty International says defectors who are sent back by Beijing are taken to labour camps where they are tortured. Last year, 20 children from the same orphanage fled but failed to make it to China. Caught by North Korean border guards, they were reportedly severely beaten.