CODEL KOLBE DISCUSSES DPRK REFUGEE ISSUES, MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ULAANBAATAR 000682 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, H, PRM E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF EAID MG KN KS SUBJECT: CODEL KOLBE DISCUSSES DPRK REFUGEE ISSUES, MORE WITH MONGOLIAN GIA OFFICIALS Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Brian L. Goldbeck for reasons 1. 5(B) and (D) ¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: Mongolian General Intelligence Agency (GIA) officials told visiting CODEL Kolbe that since 1998 Mongolia had facilitated the resettlement in South Korea of 1,976 North Koreans and that 136 were presently in Mongolia being processed. To date, all North Koreans crossing into Mongolia from China have asked to be resettled in South Korea. GIA officials said Mongolia does not consider the North Koreans to be "refugees," noting Mongolia has not signed -- and does not intend to sign -- the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees (UNCSR). Rather, consistent with its obligations under the UN Human Rights Declaration, Mongolia provides humanitarian assistance to North Koreans migrants, helping them to resettle in South Korea. It is Mongolian policy not to permit North Korean migrants to remain permanently -- in camps or otherwise -- in Mongolia. A senior GIA official noted that, if they wished to go to South Korea, the U.S., or elsewhere, they could do so. Interestingly, GIA officials said the GOM has not signed the UNCSR for fear that doing so would open it to a large influx of Chinese "economic" refugees. (Note: Mongolia is extremely wary of China and Chinese influence, to the extent of limiting the number of Chinese permitted to reside in Mongolia to less than 20,000. End Note.) Kolbe noted the U.S. Congress has expressed its willingness to accept North Korean refugees. Kolbe also urged caution regarding North Korean money-laundering and counterfeiting operations, and GIA officials noted they had cooperated fully with U.S. Embassy officials in this regard. GIA officials also sought increased intelligence and information exchange regarding potential Islamic fundamentalist concerns. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C/NF) Chairman Jim Kolbe, accompanied by the Ambassador, Representatives Crenshaw and Baird, three staffers, FSN interpreter, and DCM (notetaker),met, at the CODEL's request, September 1 with officials from Mongolia's General Intelligence Agency. (NOTE: Other meetings for Kolbe's September 1-3 visit to follow by septel.) After congratulating Mongolia on its 800th anniversary, Chairman Kolbe opened the meeting by thanking the Government of Mongolia (GOM) for its active participation in the war on terrorism, in particular for its participation in the coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Turning to the issue of North Korean refugees, Kolbe said he understood this was a sensitive issue for the GOM, adding that Congress appreciated Mongolia's humanitarian assistance efforts in this regard. Kolbe said Congress had expressed its willingness, through the North Korean Human Rights Act, to accept North Korean refugees in the U.S. Kolbe said he was aware of some practical difficulties in this process, such as the lack of a US Department of Homeland Security representative at Embassy Ulaanbaatar and the limited number of international flights and destinations in and out of Mongolia. ¶3. (C/NF) In response, Mr. Jargalsaikhan, the GIA's Deputy Chief, replied that Mongolia does not see the North Koreans as "refugees," but rather as illegal migrants. Mongolia has not signed the UN Refugee Convention. But Mongolia recognizes and fulfills its responsibilities for these people as part of its International Human Rights Convention responsibility. The first North Koreans began arriving in 1998, when six arrived. The number had risen to 644 in 2005 and, to date in 2006, some 358 North Koreans had transited Mongolia, of which 136 were currently in Mongolia in processing for resettlement in South Korea. Altogether, Mongolia has facilitated the resettlement in South Korea of 1,976 North Koreans, he said. He repeatedly stressed the GOM saw this as a humanitarian, not a refugee, matter. Jargalsaikhan indicated Mongolia would not force DPRK refugees to return to the DPRK, intimating that neither does Mongolia wish them to stay in Mongolia. He added that if they wished to go to South Korea, the U.S., or elsewhere, they could do so. ¶4. (C/NF) As to processing of DPRK refugees, the GOM does not ask those presenting themselves at the border either their origin or destination, but turns them over to ROK authorities in Mongolia who conduct the vetting and processing of these people for onward resettlement in South Korea, to date, the ultimate destination for all such people. There had been cases of Chinese ethnic Koreans misrepresenting themselves as North Koreans. The average stay for North Koreans in Mongolia before moving on to South Korea was about three or four months, he said. Asked who maintains the facilities in which the North Koreans remain pending departure, Jargalsaikhan said the South Korean Government pays for some costs and the GOM pQs for housing and guard costs. The most common entry point is the porous and isolated southern and southeastern border with China, across the Gobi Desert. North Koreans walk across the border, most often in organized groups with the assistance of NGOs or corrupt Chinese border officials. There were cases of some getting lost and perishing in the desert. Asked why Mongolia did not ratify the UN Convention on Refugees, Jargalsaikhan replied that Mongolia was sparsely populated, so "just imagine the numbers that might come from China," given China's over-population and lack of farm land. ¶5. (C/NF) Congressman Kolbe also noted that North Korea maintained an Embassy in Ulaanbaatar and that North Korean currency counterfeiting was an on-going concern. Jargalsaikhan said the GOM was aware of the problem and was watching it closely; the GOM had cooperated with the Embassy in a recent case in which $1 million in U.S. dollars and 2 million Japanese Yen had been carried into the country by North Korean couriers. He said close liaison had been maintained with U.S. Embassy reps, who expressed satisfaction at the GOM's cooperation. (Note: The Mongolians intercepted the currency and allowed USSS and Japanese authorities to examine it before it was returned to the North Koreans. None of the currency was counterfeit. End Note.) ¶6. (C/NF) Asked how else the USG and the GOM might cooperate, Jargalsaikhan said some training was already being provided, but that the GOM would welcome greater intelligence and information exchanges on Islamic activities. There were reports that in recent years Islamic radicals were seeking inroads in Mongolia. Questioned as to whom and how many, Jargalsaikhan said some from "Arabic" countries and Turkey. He acknowledged that, to date, there had been no terrorist attacks against the GOM. ¶7. (C/NF) COMMENT: This is the first time post has been told that concern about being overwhelmed by Chinese immigrants/refugees (presumably referring to the 4.8 million ethnic Mongolians in Inner Mongolia) underpinned its decision not to sign on to the UNCSR, given Mongolia's small population of 2.83 million spread over a landmass the size of Alaska. END COMMENT. ¶8. (SBU/NF) GIA attendees: Mr. Jargalsaikhan, GIA Deputy Chief, Mr. Altansukh, Section Chief, Mr. Myagmardorj, Deputy Director of Department, Mr. Dashzeveg, Deputy Director of Department, Mr. Dulguun, Interpreter. ¶9. (U) CODEL Kolbe departed and did not have the opportunity to clear this cable. GOLDBECK