North Koreans who cross the northern border into China cannot be considered refugees by Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

“Those from the DPRK who illegally crossed the border to China are not refugees,” Lu Kang, spokesperson for the PRC foreign ministry, told press at a regular briefing on Monday.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the DPRK said on Friday in Seoul that the UN was “alarmed” by the alleged increase of repatriations of North Koreans from China.

Asked about the comments, Lu insisted that DPRK citizens crossing the border had “violated Chinese law by illegally entering