(CNN) Thousands of North Korean women and girls are being trafficked and sold into sexual slavery in China, where many are sold as wives to Chinese men while others are forced into prostitution or to live stream sex acts against their will, a new report claims. Though female defectors have long been targets of human traffickers, the problem has been exacerbated in recent years due to what the reports claims is a spike in demand inside of China. There are no official statistics on the number of North Koreans that leave the country and settle outside South Korea. Aid groups have reported that tens of thousands of North Koreans live in China as refugees, according to a 2014 United Nations report. The KFI claims the number could be as high as 200,000.

Source: CNN May 21, 2019 05:37 UTC