The Chosun Ilbo reports that interviews conducted by the National Human Rights Commission with 100 children born in China to defector mothers has led to the claim that there may be up to 50,000 abandoned North Korean-Chinese children in China.

The interviews conducted by the Commission showed that a fifth of the children interviewed lived in shelters run by religious organizations. Approximately two-fifths of the interviewees were currently residing with grandparents or other relatives. 21 of the children interviewed lived with their birth mother and the remaining 20 lived with their birth father.

36% of the children had been abandoned because their mother had been deported back to North Korea. A further 31% of the children said they had been abandoned when their family broke down because their mother left, often for South Korea.

The National Human Rights Commission has suggested that between 20,000 and 30,000 children born to North Korean mothers may be living in China.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo