A Korean-American man who runs an NGO in a Chinese city on the border with North Korea is being investigated by Chinese authorities and has had his bank accounts frozen, according to a source with direct knowledge of the case.

Peter Hahn, a naturalized US citizen and a Christian, has been under interrogation by Chinese authorities for the past three weeks and is not permitted to leave China, the anonymous source said.

The source did not say what prompted the investigation.

On Tuesday, China said it was investigating a Canadian Christian couple who ran a coffee shop in Dandong, a town south of Tumen along the border with North Korea, on suspicion of stealing military and intelligence information.

Hahn runs a school for ethnic Korean children in the border city of Tumen and, through his Tumen River Area Development Initiative, operates several humanitarian projects and joint venture companies in North Korea, including a bus service in the Rason Special Economic Zone.

Hahn, who is based in California but has a residence permit for Rason, also runs a bakery producing bread for children in the zone.

The school declined to comment, and Tumen police could not be reached for comment. A spokesman at the US Embassy in Beijing said he could not provide any information.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)