UNHCR INFORMS EMBASSY OF INTEREST IN U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 004842 SIPDIS SIPDIS GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2016 TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PHUM KNEP KS TH SUBJECT: UNHCR INFORMS EMBASSY OF INTEREST IN U.S. RESETTLEMENT OF THREE NORTH KOREANS Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL OFFICER MARK LAMBERT, REASON 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) Over the past several days, UNHCR/Bangkok informed Embassy that three North Koreans in Bangkok's Immigration Detention Center have expressed interest in U.S. resettlement. UNHCR's ROK secondee has confirmed their North Korean nationality and obtained a written statement of their interst in U.S. resettlement. ¶2. (C) Biodata on the three persons follows: Name: KIM, Seon Sook Sex: Female DOB: October 30, 1961 Ms. Kim is the mother of two other North Koreans women (YANG, Un Mi and YANG, Un Ju) who approached the Embassy on May 27 and expressed interest in U.S. resettlement. Department has already given approval to process the cases of the daughters. Ms. Kim told UNHCR that she initially wanted to go to the ROK with her husband. However, the husband died in Laos enroute to Thailand due to illness. Now Ms. Kim wants to accompany her daughters if they resettle to the United States. She left North Korea on November 15, 2003. She arrived in Thailand on April 12, 2006. She has no relatives in the United States and left behind two brothers and four sisters in North Korea. Name: KIM, Yeong Ok Sex: Female DOB: October 30, 1965 Name: KIM, Byeol Sex: Female DOB: March 16, 1990 Kim Yeong Ok and Kim Byeol are mother-daughter. They left North Korea in 2001. The mother was married to a Chinese man in China by common law. They originally came to Thailand to be resettled to the ROK, but changed their mind and now want to go to the United States because there is more freedom there and the mother wants the daughter to receive a U.S. education. ¶3. (U) Please provide guidance on whether post should take further steps in processing these cases for U.S. resettlement. ARVIZU