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THE world's attention is on the hapless, mostly Afghan refugees vainly seeking asylum in Australia from on board the Norwegian freighter Tampa. Much less has been heard about a far larger number of people being pursued by the Chinese authorities for repatriation to North Korea. Reporting from the border area in today's paper, David Rennie, our China correspondent, paints a grim picture of fear, loneliness and destitution in which the courage of local Christians in sheltering the refugees shines like a light.

The origin of this suffering is the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang, which, after nearly 50 years of peace, has not only failed to liberalise politically but, through insane economic policies, has condemned North Koreans to semi-starvation. Those with sufficient courage or measure of desperation cross the Tumen River in search of food, work or freedom. Earlier this year, it was estimated that up to 300,000 of them were hiding in China on any given day.

That was before Beijing launched a repatriation drive, part of a nationwide anti-crime campaign called Strike Hard. For a government to be apprehensive about widespread illegal immigration is understandable. But the authorities can be in no doubt that North Koreans sent home face almost certain persecution. Like the Australians with the Afghans, the Chinese have their own national interests to safeguard. But like them, too, they are signatories to the United Nations Refugee Convention, which enjoins protection of those with a "well-founded fear of persecution" in their own countries.

China is the nation with the closest links to North Korea and is therefore best placed to steer Kim Jong-il down the path of liberalisation which it has followed for more than 20 years. Without further change across the Tumen River, Beijing will be faced with an unending stream of refugees who will test, and find embarrassingly wanting, its commitment to the UN covenant. The problem requires treatment at source. Reform should head the agenda of President Jiang Zemin when he visits Pyongyang next week.