Did North Korea execute these children for defecting? Group of nine who endured frostbite and tuberculosis to escape were forcibly sent back to rogue state



Missionaries who helped them furious at South Korea's response

Youngsters had hoped asylum claim in Laos could lead them to new life

But Laotian authorities tricked them and sent them back to North Korea



There are fears that a group of nine young North Korean defectors have been executed after they were sent back to the pariah state after they tried to claim asylum in Laos.

The young escapees - aged 15 to 23 - were deported back to their homeland after a long and difficult trek to freedom that had, for some, taken as long as four years.

The UN has condemned the decision, while the South Korean missionaries who tried to help the defectors make their escape say they are furious at their own government's response.

Betrayed: Authorities in Laos sent these young North Korean defectors back to their homeland after they tried to claim asylum in the hopes they could make it to a new life of freedom in South Korea or America

Frostbite: Many of the young defectors suffered appalling injuries from extreme cold, and some were suffering from skin diseases



Those missionaries made video recordings of the youngsters' ordeal, which happened in 2009 but has only just come to light in a CNN report.



The young defectors had hoped to claim asylum in Laos - first step towards a new life in South Korea or the U.S. - after making a long and hazardous journey through Chinese territory.

Most North Korean defectors first cross their country's northern border, but they cannot stop there as authorities in China - North Korea's only ally - would send them straight back.

Ordeal: The children had frostbite on their hands, toes and noses from living in an old abandoned building in minus 30C conditions

The upsetting images were captured by missionaries in 2009, but have only just come to light

Brutal: Many of the injuries the children had sustained were doled out by guards who caught them stealing food in an effort to survive

South Korea's foreign ministry said it prioritises the lives and safety of North Korean defectors and is 'inspecting the problems revealed from this incident'

The South Korean missionaries, who preferred to remain anonymous since they often help defectors from the North, helped to sneak them across the border from China to Laos.

When they met the defectors in December 2009, many were badly malnourished and frostbitten after living as fugitives in China, spending their days evading authorities and nights sleeping rough.

One missionary told CNN : 'They look for fish bones and rice to mix together to make into porridge. Then they eat toothpaste to help them digest it.'

Tired, frightened and hungry: When the missionaries met the defectors, many were badly malnourished and frostbitten after living as fugitives in China, spending their days evading authorities and nights sleeping rough

Most were suffering from a skin disease and an unlucky few had injuries they said were inflicted by beatings from border guards who had caught them stealing food.

'All of them seemed to have suffered from tuberculosis,' the missionary said. 'And as they were malnourished their growth had been stunted.'

He hoped that after getting the defectors out of China they would be able to claim asylum with Laotian authorities. But this time things did not go according to plan.

The teenagers were told they were going to South Korea and their applications were being processed, but no one from Seoul ever visited them

After giving themselves up the defectors and their helpers were held for two weeks, while calls to South Korea's embassy simply said the youngsters' applications were being processed.

No diplomat came to visit them in their detention.

Then, on May 27, the youngsters were told to pack their bags to go to South Korea. But as the missionaries tried to follow their charges into the immigration office the door was shut in their face.

According to the United Nations all nine youngsters were deported back to North Korea via China.

On show: After their recapture, the youngsters were paraded on North Korean state television, where they said they had been tricked into leaving the country and thanked Kim Jong Un for allowing them home

M.J. and his wife fear for the nine youngsters, as those who try to escape North Korea are often imprisoned or executed

They were last seen on North Korean state television, where they said they had been tricked into leaving the country and thanked Kim Jong Un for welcoming them back.

Human rights groups told CNN that defectors caught and sent back to North Korea are sometimes tortured, or even executed.

Contemplating the fate of the youngsters they tried to help, one of the missionaries broke down in tears.

'It's unbearable that these children were taken away from us,' she said. 'But what makes me really angry is the response from South Korea.'

South Korea's foreign ministry told CNN it prioritises the life and safety of North Korean defectors and is 'inspecting the problems revealed from this incident'.