A/HRC/4/15 page 8 door to more access to foreign broadcasts. Those who have left the country also note that mobile phones are increasingly available in the border areas, providing opportunities for calls across the border. 15. In relation to freedom of association/assembly, an interesting incident should be noted as a manifestation of the people’s desire to express themselves and to seek accountability. A mass protest took place in December 2006 in Hoiryeong, North Hamkyong. One source reported on 17 December 2006 that a riot by market traders took place when they were forced to vacate market premises, even though they had paid the authorities for reconstruction expenses.7 Calm returned after the market authorities negotiated a settlement. 16. Despite official claims that religious freedom is allowed, reports indicate the contrary. Indeed, any purported liberalization on this front tends to be due to the lure of money. As noted in a recent document: “The reason North Korea is changing its religious policy in terms of legal and institutional arrangements is to maintain religious repression internally amidst deteriorating food shortage … and the unruly social environment, while expanding contacts with the international community through various religious channels. In short, North Korea is utilizing religion as a means of gaining foreign currency.”8 17. On another front, human rights violations have particularly impacted upon foreigners in the form of abductions. As will be seen below, a number of Japanese nationals were abducted from the 1970s, probably with the aim of using them to train spies or to use their identity for espionage purposes. While five individuals have returned to Japan, other cases remain unsolved, particularly due to inadequate cooperation and follow-up on the part of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In a similar vein, there are long-standing cases of missing persons from the Republic of Korea who might have been abducted, as well as more recent claims of abductions of other nationals, including those of Thailand, Lebanon and some European countries. It is incumbent upon the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to ensure transparency and provide redress as expeditiously as possible. D. Asylum: rights pertaining to refugees/those seeking refuge 18. The Special Rapporteur was apprised of a key message in regard to the asylum situation during the year: “it is a major business”. There are many intermediaries exploiting those who seek refuge in other countries, and this is interlinked with rampant human smuggling, trafficking and extortion. The exploiters range from criminals to public officials in various countries, given that asylum by its very nature concerns several countries and is a transfrontier phenomenon. There is another resonant message in this scenario: those who seek refuge should not be 7 The Daily NK, 17 December 2006, www.dailynk.com/english/sub_list.php?catald=nk01500. 8 White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2006, see note 4 above, p. 139.