"On The Border" documentary on North Korean refugees

U.S. State Department officials on Monday watched a segment of "On The Border", a documentary on North Korean refugees produced by the Chosun Ilbo as part of its global cross-media program. The segment they watched contained scenes of a North Korean woman sold to China across the Tumen River for [$47], a North Korean drug dealer crossing the river naked, and the suffering of North Korean women suffering hardships after being sold to Chinese men.

A U.S. diplomat said the scenes were “shocking” and asked how the crew managed to shoot the footage in the dangerous Chinese-North Korean border area. U.S. diplomats were reportedly curious to discover how China and North Korea treat the North Korean refugees who've crossed the border, and especially what happened to the North Koreans who appeared in the film.

The film, parts of which have been shown all over the world, appears to have helped raise awareness of the plight of North Korean refugees.

"On The Border", will run on the BBC. Both BBC World, the international cable news channel, and domestic channels BBC2 and BBC News24 will air five to six parts of "Korea: out of the North", the corporation’s version of the Chosun Ilbo documentary, starting May 30.

BBC World will air the first 50-minute part as part of its "Our World" program and will broadcast the documentary a total of six times for three days. In Korea, it can be watched on cable and BBC World (channel 528) on Sky TV.

In the U.K., BBC2's "Newsnight" will feature a 15-minute segment, while news channel BBC News24 will broadcast 30-minute parts of the documentary.

[Chosun Ilbo]