Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07VIENTIANE893
2007-12-11 11:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Vientiane
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SWEDISH CHARGE TO DISCUSS

Tags:  ASEC PREL LA KN SW 
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VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVN #0893/01 3451149
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 111149Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1688
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 7564
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2215
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0594
C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000893 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS (BESTIC)
DEPT FOR PRM (PONGONIS)
DEPT FOR OPERATIONS CENTER
DEPT FOR DS/IP/EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017
TAGS: ASEC PREL LA KN SW
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SWEDISH CHARGE TO DISCUSS
DPRK CITIZENS

REF: VIENTIANE 888

Classified By: RAVIC R. HUSO, AMBASSADOR, FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) & (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000893

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS (BESTIC)
DEPT FOR PRM (PONGONIS)
DEPT FOR OPERATIONS CENTER
DEPT FOR DS/IP/EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017
TAGS: ASEC PREL LA KN SW
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SWEDISH CHARGE TO DISCUSS
DPRK CITIZENS

REF: VIENTIANE 888

Classified By: RAVIC R. HUSO, AMBASSADOR, FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (U) This is an action request: please see paragraph 14.


2. (C//NF) Summary: According to Swedish diplomats, the two
North Koreans continue to insist that their intent is to seek
asylum in the United States. While the ROK Embassy is
prepared and able to assist them to travel to South Korea, it
is not prepared to take action until the two asylum seekers
indicate that relocation to South Korea is their desire.
Embassy requests Department provide guidance on possible
relocation to the United States and respond to Swedish
requests for information on that process. End summary.


3. (C//NF) On Tuesday December 11, 2007, the Ambassador,
POL/ECON Chief, and RSO met with the Swedish Charge d'Affairs
AnnLis Aberg and her visiting colleague Kaarlo Laasko, Deputy
Chief of Mission, Swedish Embassy Bangkok, to discuss the
presence of two North Korean men who entered the Swedish
Embassy last week (reftel) and who had requested Swedish
assistance in emigrating to the United States.


4. (C//NF) The Swedish diplomats provided new information
about ongoing Swedish assistance to two
North Korean citizens who have requested assistance to
relocate to the United States. The two men, Kim Jung-yoon
(DOB 08/15/1978) and Han Chang-Il (DOB 07/27/83),entered the
Swedish Embassy compound through the front gate on Friday
December 2, 2007, at 0900. Local guards employed by the
Swedes permitted the two North Koreans to pass directly to
the reception area where they presented a note to the
receptionist stating that they were from North Korea and that
they wanted to go to the United States. Swedish Embassy
officers immediately attempted to verify their bona fides,
calling on the assistance of the nearby South Korean Embassy
which provided translation services. (Note: the local guard
company involved, known to be owned at least in part by the
Lao Government, informed police officials at once.)


Biographical Information
--------------

5. (C//NF) Through separate interviews lasting more than two
hours each, the Swedes learned that the two men had traveled
from North Korea through China and had entered northern Laos
December 2 or 3 before heading to Vientiane. The men
indicated that they had been assisted in their journey by Hee
Tae Kim, who is described as a coordinator for the
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Human Rights And Mission.
One of the North Korean men provided the Swedes with a
business card for Mr. Kim which contained a Bangkok address
(Rama III SV City 8 Tower #2004) and telephone numbers in
Thailand (66 085-225-4894),Laos (856-020-500-2008) and Korea
(82 010-5577-1818) as well as an internet address:
flowerswallow@hanmail.net.


6. (C//NF) During these interviews, Mr. Han claimed that,
upon arrival in Vientiane, he scouted several Embassies to
identify which allowed for the easiest entrance. Mr. Han
claimed that, while walking by
the Swedish Embassy, he noticed people entering and exiting
with minimal security controls. He further stated that he
specifically did not want to go to the South Korean Embassy
as he wished to go to the United States and feared that the
South Koreans would assist him only to go to South Korea.
Mr. Han revealed that he had left North Korea some time
around 2000 and had been living in Northern China near the
North Korean border and had been involved in the internet
business. Mr. Han also revealed during the interview that he
had previously been caught by the Chinese and sent back to a
labor camp in North Korea and ultimately made his way back to
China in 2003. Mr. Han stated that he spoke Korean, some
Chinese and rudimentary English.


7. (C//NF) During interviews with Mr. Kim, the Swedes
learned that he had left North Korea during autumn 2007 after
having served as a soldier for more than ten years. In China,
he had worked at restaurants. Both men claimed that they had
only been paired together by the NGO since crossing the
border from China into Laos and that they had not previously
been acquainted.


8. (C//NF) The Swedes told the Ambassador that

representatives from the Human Rights And Mission NGO may
have stayed to witness to the North Korean men's entry to the
Swedish compound. After successfully explaining their
situation to the Swedes, the North Korean men initiated a
telephone call to one of the numbers listed on the business
card and apparently confirmed that they were receiving the
assistance of the Swedish Embassy.

South Korean Assistance
--------------

9. (C//NF) The Swedes have maintained an active dialogue with
the South Korean Embassy which has provided translation
assistance as well as reading materials for the men while
they wait resolution to their situation. The Swedes
indicated that the South Koreans have offered to provide
travel letters for the men to allow them to travel from Laos.
The South Koreans also indicated their preliminary belief
that the men were North Korean as they spoke with North
Korean accents and their stories about their lives in North
Korea seemed credible.


10. (C//NF) The South Koreans have told the Swedes that if
the men state a willingness and desire to emigrate to South
Korea, the South Koreans are in a position to facilitate that
through their own methods and to do so in fairly short order.
The South Koreans intimated to the Swedes that they
have developed a discreet understanding with key members in
the Lao Government that allows for the expedited removal of
North Koreans to South Korea. However, so long as these men
insist on relocation to the United States, the Swedes have
been told by the South Koreans that they cannot enter them
into their system which is predicated on the ROK as the
desired destination.

Swedish Request for Assistance
--------------

11. (C//NF) ACTION REQUEST: In order to move the process
closer to a resolution, the Swedes would like to develop a
list of options to present to the North Korean men. The
Swedes have requested that we describe for them the process
for North Koreans to be relocated to the United States.
Please advise also if Washington wishes the Swedes to present
this option or not. Clearly the most effective option would
be for the North Koreans to reach the conclusion that their
best course is to seek asylum in the ROK.


12. (C//NF) The South Koreans have indicated that their
mechanism for removal involves departure from Vientiane,
international transit through the Bangkok airport, and
immediate onward air travel to Seoul. This route avoids
involvement of Thai authorities and provides an expedited
routing. As the men have insisted on relocating to the
United States and not/not South Korea, post would like to
know if there is a mechanism to allow for onward movement to
the United States if they have to travel first to South Korea.


13. (C//NF) The Swedes have stated that they recognize the
impediment posed to this process if the Lao were to be made
aware of U.S. involvement in this case. As such, they have
specifically stated that they will keep all knowledge of
their contacts with the Embassy confidential.


14. (C//NF) ACTION REQUEST: Please respond NLT COB Washington
time if possible with a blueprint of how North Koreans might
be able to get from Vientiane to the United States. The
Swedes would only share that information with the North
Korean asylum seekers with our permission.
HUSO