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