The “Friendship Bridge” linking China and North Korea, photographed from Dandong, China on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

(CNSNews.com) – During the two days that passed between Kim Jong-il’s death and the official announcement, the North Korean regime reportedly took steps to prevent a chaotic response to the news, apparently fearing a mass exodus across the border with China.

Announcement of the death came on Monday, at noon local time, when a black-clad, tearful news announcer on state television said Kim had died on a train during a “field guidance tour” from a heart attack triggered by “great mental and physical strain.” The death had occurred, she said, at 8.30 AM on Saturday morning -- 51-and-a-half hours earlier.

Daily NK, a South Korean-based news hub focusing on the North, reports that, according to a military source, North Korean border guard units received orders at 1 AM on Sunday morning to seal the border immediately.

Border patrols were doubled in size and off-duty officers were recalled and had been on emergency duty ever since, the source said.

“Thus, it is clear that the North Korean authorities took steps to avert civilian unrest and potential mass defection attempts by shutting down the border and reinforcing patrols prior to announcing Kim’s death,” Daily NK said.

In the northeastern city of Musan, near the Chinese border, armed troops were said to have blanketed downtown areas, ordering market traders to leave and people to return to their homes.

South Korea’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that North Korea had tightened security at military units and recalled some troops to base.

An ministry official quoted by the Yonhap news agency said that in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 death of Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim Il-sung, the North Korean military had similarly focused on bolstering security.

North Korea is widely regarded as the world’s most repressive state, with an estimated 200,000 people incarcerated in political prison camps known as kwan-li-so, possibly a quarter or more of them Christians. Recorded abuses in the camps include torture, assault of pregnant inmates to induce abortions, and infanticide.

The U.S.-based North Korea Freedom Coalition says that an estimated three million North Koreans – in a country of 24 million – have died as a result of regime-inflicted abuses, including starvation, since the mid-1990s.

The border dividing the two Koreas is the world’s most heavily-armed frontier, so the long border with China is the only feasible escape route for North Koreans desperate to leave.

Once in China, however, escapees face the risk of being detained and forcibly repatriated, as Beijing says it does not recognize them as legitimate refugees. Pyongyang generally punishes the returnees with prison camp sentences, and some are reportedly executed.

A network of foreign activists, including South Korean missionaries, has for several years been helping some of the North Koreans in China to seek refuge in foreign diplomatic missions, or to leave for neighboring Southeast Asian countries, from where they eventually make their way to a new life in South Korea.

‘A nightmare that never ends’

The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea in a statement Monday urged the country’s declared new leader, Kim Jong-un, and other leaders to end forced labor, torture, executions and forced abortions of returnees, and shut down all kwan-li-so camps.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on the outside world community to prioritize the human rights issue.

“The death of Kim Jong-il opens up an opportunity which the international community should seize, to help free the North Korean people from decades of brutal oppression,” said CSW’s East Asia team leader Benedict Rogers.

“While there may be a period of uncertainty and instability in the days ahead, the international community should ensure that the severe human rights and humanitarian crisis in North Korea is placed firmly on the agenda alongside security and political concerns,” he said. “Action must be taken to bring an end to the regime's crimes against humanity and the culture of impunity.”

Open Doors USA called for prayer for North Korea and the Christians suffering there in this time of uncertainty.

“We simply do not know the future of North Korea, but God does,” said president and CEO Carl Moeller.

“This is why it is vital that Christians around the world pray for North Korea during this transitional time. Pray especially for the brave Christians inside North Korea,” he said.

“They are fearful that they might face even more suffering. There are an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians being held in North Korean prison camps where they face even more horrific treatment than other prisoners. People are starving to death. The people of North Korea are living a nightmare that never ends.”

Open Doors says it secretly trained more than 4,000 Christians and provided emergency food and clothing to 56,000 Christians in North Korea this year.

“Open Doors distributed more than 30,000 Bibles, books and other materials in North Korea,” it says. “Additionally, Open Doors formed a network to help train North Korean defectors and believers living along China’s border areas.”

In a statement Monday evening, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. hoped that Pyongyang’s new leaders “will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by honoring North Korea’s commitments, improving relations with its neighbors, and respecting the rights of its people.”

“The United States stands ready to help the North Korean people and urges the new leadership to work with the international community to usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and lasting security on the Korean Peninsula,” she said.