逃跑的朝鮮士兵殺害四名中國人

Seoul (AFP) - A North Korean believed to be a runaway soldier killed four Chinese citizens during a robbery after he crossed the border into China in search of food, media reports said Monday.

首爾（法新社）——一名據稱是朝鮮逃兵的朝鮮人跨過邊境搶劫食物並殺害四名中國人，週一有媒體報道說。

The young North Korean soldier crossed the border in late December and stole money and food at a house before killing four residents in China's northeastern city of Helong, South Korea's Yonhap news agency and Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said.

這名年輕的朝鮮士兵於12月底穿越邊境，在中國和龍市竊取錢財和食物並最終殺死4名中國人，韓聯社和《東亞日報》報道。

Both cited sources in the border areas between China and the North.

兩份媒體援引的消息都來自中朝的邊界地區。

The victims were either shot dead or beaten to death, Dong-A said, adding he was later shot and captured by Chinese authorities.

這些受害人不是被射殺就是被打死，後來被中國當局開槍射擊被抓獲。

"Killing several Chinese nationals... is a major crime, so there are good possibilities that China, unlike other runaway North Korean soldiers captured before, will not hand him over to the North," said an unnamed Seoul official quoted by Yonhap.

一名韓國官員說：“殺害幾名中國人是一項重罪，所以中國不大可能像之前遣返朝鮮逃兵那樣將此人遣返回朝鮮。”

All able-bodied young men in the North are subject to 10 years of military service. Many army bases are known to suffer food shortage and starving troops often cross the border to China in search of food.

朝鮮所有健全的年輕男性都得服10年的兵役。很多軍事基地缺乏食物，飢餓的軍人經常跨越邊境去中國尋找食物。

Private markets cropping up across the North in recent years have helped ease starvation among ordinary citizens.

最近幾年，朝鮮出現了私人市場，從而減輕了普通人的飢餓情況。

Dong-A said the victims were two elderly ethnic Korean couples. Koreans make up for about 30 percent of the population in China's Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture that borders the North.

《東亞日報》說受害者是兩對年老的朝鮮族夫婦。在與朝鮮交界的中國延邊朝鮮族自治州，朝鮮族佔據了大約30%人口。