MISDIRECTED MAIL COMPLICATES NORTH KOREAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENTIANE 000296 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/K DEPARTMENT FOR PRM BANGKOK FOR HONNOLD E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2017 TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV PHUM LA KN KS SUBJECT: MISDIRECTED MAIL COMPLICATES NORTH KOREAN CHILDREN'S RELEASE Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Haslach. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: South Korean Counsellor Miyon Lee told DCM April 9 that she was hopeful that three North Korean asylum seekers who have been detained in Laos since November 2006 would be released in the next day or two. The situation took a "tricky" turn, she said, when the Lao police misdirected a communication meant for the South Koreans to the North Korean embassy, alerting them to the arrangements for the children's release and apparently prompting them to demand that the children be returned to North Korea. She said that, in addition to some 70 North Koreans known to have made their way into Laos since January, a Japanese citizen living in North Korea also escaped and sought resettlement in Japan. Ms. Lee had no details on a group of ten North Koreans who were reportedly arrested after crossing into Thailand from Laos, but she said that North Koreans arrested in Thailand continue to eventually make their way to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok. End summary. ¶2. (C) On April 9, DCM called South Korean Counsellor Miyon Lee to inquire about a story in that day's Japan Times about three young North Korean asylum seekers who have been detained in Vientiane since November 2006. The story quoted a representative of a Japanese NGO called Life Funds for North Korean Refugees as saying that a Lao government official had demanded $1000 for the release of each of three. The story also said that the North Korean embassy visited the prison on Friday and demanded that the Lao government deport the three to North Korea. The story said that (as has been previously reported) the children hope to be resettled in the United States. Embassy Vientiane also received a forwarded e-mail from activists saying that the North Koreans had become involved. ¶3. (C) Ms. Lee said of the situation, "It's kind of tricky." The matter had been on the brink of resolution, with quiet communications underway between the Lao government and the South Korean Embassy on the details, including, she hinted, a sum of money similar to the total figure of $3000 that the Japanese NGO representative mentioned. Then the embassy received an inquiry from a representative of the Lao police asking why the South Koreans had not responded to their latest communication about the matter. The South Koreans replied that they had never received the communication. The reason, as it turned out, was that the Lao police had sent the message to the wrong Koreans. (Both North Korea and South Korea have embassies in Vientiane.) The North Korean embassy, Ms. Lee said, had known about the situation for a long time but had not made a major issue of it until they received the misdirected communication. She was unable to confirm whether the North Korean consul visited the prison as reported in the article, but she indicated that this reaction would not be surprising. She doubts that the consul saw the children. ¶4. (C) Ms. Lee said that she remains optimistic that the children will be released within the next day or two. The South Koreans have told the Lao government that they cannot wait any longer than that. (Note: The urgency may stem from the North Korean embassy's involvement. End note.) She believes that the Lao government wants the issue resolved before the Lao New Year (April 14-16). ¶5. (C) The DCM asked about the involvement of the Japanese NGO mentioned in the Japan Times story. Ms. Lee said that the reason for the Japanese involvement is that a Japanese citizen who had moved to North Korea had left and was trying to make his way back to Japan. The NGO went to Laos to try to facilitate this. Ms. Lee at first appeared to indicate that the Japanese government had said it was unable to help, then backed away from this and said that they may have helped. (Comment: This may shed light on something that has left us scratching our heads for several days. The newly arrived Japanese DCM urgently requested a meeting with the DCM to ask about our procedures for dealing with North Korean asylum seekers, then asserted during the April 5 meeting that he was just asking for contingency planning purposes. End comment.) DCM asked Ms. Lee whether a statement in the press story that the Japanese NGO representative met the three North Korean children was credible. Ms. Lee said that it is possible, since, after arriving in Laos, he was working with other refugee assistance groups. VIENTIANE 00000296 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Asked about a report in the Bangkok Post saying that ten North Koreans were arrested in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, after crossing from Laos, Ms. Lee said that she has no specific information. She is not certain whether this is the same group of eight that, while making its way through Laos, was the subject of several false NGO reports saying that that they had been arrested and/or sent back to China. There are many North Koreans making their way through Laos, she noted. (Note: The newly arrived South Korean ambassador told the Ambassador during his April 3 introductory call that the embassy is aware of 70 North Korean asylum seekers who have made their way to Laos since the beginning of 2007, as opposed to only 60 in all of 2006. End note.) She said that the process by which North Koreans are arrested by Thai authorities and moved to Bangkok, where they make their way to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),is still working. ¶7. (C) Comment: We hope that Ms. Lee's optimism about an imminent resolution to the three children's situation is justified. The message that was misdirected to the North Koreans may have complicated matters, since the Lao government scrupulously avoids taking any action that appears to favor one Korea over the other. Also complicating matters is the press coverage of the issue and the children's apparent desire to go to the United States. We continue to recommend that our Embassy not get directly involved in this case. End comment. HASLACH