SIX NORTH KOREANS APPROACH EMBASSY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 002202 SIPDIS SIPDIS GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2016 TAGS: PREF PGOV PHUM PREL AMGT KN KS TH DPRK SUBJECT: SIX NORTH KOREANS APPROACH EMBASSY REF: A. SECSTATE 58514 ¶B. BANGKOK 2120 ¶C. BANGKOK 1340 Classified By: ALEX ARVIZU, DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, REASONS 1.4(B,D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See para. 6. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY. Six North Koreans (NK) accompanied by two NGO representatives from the Evangelical Movement for North Korea presented themselves at U.S. Embassy Bangkok about 1100 on April 17. They were not accompanied by media and the Embassy has received no press inquiries about them. They were met by Embassy refugee officers, security officers, and two Korean-American US Embassy employees who served as translators. The six NKs were interviewed separately by Embassy officers to ascertain biographical and other information. After the interviews, Refcoord accompanied the group to the Bangkok Christian Guest House where rooms had been previously arranged by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Refcoord and Deputy RefCoord gave the NKs contact information and said they would be contacting the NKs about next steps. Embassy Bangkok has also informed the OPs Center, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, IOM, the Embassy's refugee processing unit, DHS/CIS, the ROK Embassy and the RTG of the NKs' arrival. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) Biographical information on the six refugees follows: Name: Shin, Chul Min DOB: Feb 14, 1986 POB: Ham Kyung Book Do Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Male Family in NK: Father (Shin, Hyun Sik) and Mother (Rim, Young Suk),younger brothers (Shin, Chul Kuk and Shin, Myong Sim) First arrived in China Aug 31, 1999 Name: Han, Jin Hee DOB: Feb 13, 1970 POB: Shin Yeo Chu Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Female Family in NK: Father (Han, Yeon Kwan) and Mother (Choi, Soon Sun) are both deceased. Two older sisters (Han, Jung Ae and Han, Jung Shil),younger sister (Han, Jin Soon) First arrived in China on July 10, 2003, has been co-habiting with a Korean Chinese man. Name: Choi, Sung Shil DOB: July 9, 1981 POB: Ham Kyung Book Do Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Female Family in NK: Father (Choi, Su Man) deceased, Mother (Han, Kyung Hwa),older brother (Choi, Kyung San) On April 2, 2004, she left NK and arrived in Yeon Byon, China where she was sold to a Chinese man for 20,000 RMB. She was his mistress for two years. Name: Shin, Song Hee DOB: Feb 2, 1986 POB: Ham Kyung Book Do Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Female Family in NK: Father (Shin, Huong Suk) deceased since 1993, Mother (Dong, Oak Sun),Eldest brother ( Shin, Jae Won) is one of the six refugees. Two other brothers are Shin, Jae Sun and Shin, Jae Jun). She fleed NK before but en route from Beijing to ROK Embassy in Mongolia to claim asylum, she was arrested by Chinese police and deported to NK. She spent 11 months in interrogation at a political prison and served nine months additional sentence. On Sept 21, 2005, she was released from prison, became sick for six months and made her final crossing to Yeon Byon, China on Feb 24, 2006. Name: Shin, Jae Won DOB: June 18, 1974 POB: Ham Kyung Book Do Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Male Family in NK: Shin, Jae Won is the brother of Shin, Song Hee. Refer to family information from above. He fled NK three times previously and was arrested and deported back to NK. He was sent to a political prison and was released. He made his final crossing to China on March 12, 2004. He served five years of the then mandatory 10 years military duties before being medically discharged due to kidney problems. He was a sniper with the NK Special Forces. Name: Nam, Mi Oak DOB: Dec 11, 1972 POB: Ham Kyung Book Do Province, NK Nationality: NK Gender: Female Family in NK: Father (Nam, Sang Woon, DOB March 2, 1944) and Mother (Jang, Jeang Ho, DOB Dec 20, 1946),older brother (Nam, Seong Woo, DOB April 19, 1970). She was trafficked to Hei Loung Jong Province, China and sold to a Korean Chinese man in June 1998. ¶4. (C) Refugee Route of Travel and other Information: From these brief assessment interviews, it appears that all six refugees crossed from North Korea to Yeon Byon, China. All six refugees reported that they were assisted by missionary groups and notably cited assistance from Rev. Chun, Ki-won, Director of the Evangelical Movement for North Korea. The group was instructed to travel to Kumming by train and crossed overland at Mengla, Yunnan Province into Laos. They then traveled to Vientiane and crossed overland into Thailand at Nongkhai. It is unclear whether or not they were accompanied through China and crossed borders with aid from missionary groups. Rev. Chun joined them at the Thailand border crossing at Nongkhai. Mr. Chun and Amcit Ms. Jeana Han, who stated that she was associated with the evangelical group, accompanied the six NKs to the Embassy. Mr. Chun and Ms. Han stated that they intend to leave Thailand within the next couple days, at which point the six NKs will be by themselves. Mr. Chun stated that he hoped to make some other arrangements to provide some limited assistance to the refugees while they remain in Thailand. ¶5. (C) Notifying the RTG: The Ambassador spoke to Krit Ganjana-Goonchorn, MFA Permanent Secretary, regarding the NK refugees. Krit thanked the Ambassador for informing him about their arrival. He noted that the MFA, given the current circumstances, would require some time to formulate a position. (Note: due to the political crisis and the parliamentary elections, all ministers are serving in a "caretaker" capacity, restricting the ability of the ministries to take decisive action. The new government will not be in place until early May, at the soonest.) Krit noted that the RTG had expressed some reservations in the past on the issue of processing NK refugees destined for the US. The Ambassador reminded Krit of the more positive response in his latest discussions with the Foreign Minister and with NSC Secretary General Winai Phattiyakul (ref c). Krit promised SIPDIS to work on coordinating a response. The Ambassador subsequently contacted General Winai, who affirmed his previous intention to work with us on this issue. General Winai emphasized the importance of keeping the story out of the press. ¶6. (C) Action request: Please provide guidance on whether the USG wants post to take further steps in processing these cases for U.S. resettlement. BOYCE