March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Fifteen North Koreans were executed in public for illegally crossing into China to search for food, Agence France-Presse said, citing the aid group, Good Friends.

Thirteen women and two men were shot on a bridge in the northeast town of Onseong on Feb. 20, AFP reported, citing a newsletter from Good Friends, a South Korean organization that works in North Korea.

They had been arrested for crossing the border into China or for helping others enter North Korea's neighbor, AFP reported. A North Korean official told Good Friends the executions were carried out to deter others from crossing as the northern hemisphere's spring approaches, AFP said.

North Korea, one of the world's most isolated countries, suffers from regular food shortages and required more than 4 million tons of food aid in the decade to 2005, according to the United Nations World Food Program.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 5, 2008 03:38 EST