North Korea is officially an atheist state and the North Korean Constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief".[40][41][42] However, government policies continue to interfere with the individual's ability to choose and to manifest their religious belief. The government continues to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. Refugee, defector, missionary, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) reports indicate that religious persons engaging in proselytizing in the country, those who have ties to overseas evangelical groups operating across the border in the People's Republic of China, and specifically, those repatriated from China and found to have been in contact with foreigners or missionaries, have been arrested and subjected to harsh penalties.