(C) TWO NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES HEADED TO THE U.S.,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PHNOM PENH 000316 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/K, AND PRM BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD TIM SCHERER GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2018 TAGS: PREF KS KN CB SUBJECT: (C) TWO NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES HEADED TO THE U.S., ONE NK APPLICANT REMAINS, AWAITING SAO SUBMITTED LAST SEPTEMBER REF: A. 07 PHNOM PENH 927 ¶B. 07 PHNOM PENH 298 ¶C. 07 PHNOM PENH 143 ¶D. 07 PHNOM PENH 78 Classified By: Political Officer Janet Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Two North Korean refugees in Cambodia have been approved for U.S. resettlement and are scheduled to depart for the U.S. on April 16. Police Commissioner Hok Lundy granted exit permission for the two individuals on April 9, after receiving the request only a few days before. Of the six North Korean individuals who were being reviewed by the U.S. for possible resettlement, only one individual will be left in Cambodia after April 16. He came to the Embassy on January 17, 2007 -- one year and three months ago -- and his processing has been stuck in the Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) phase since September 2007. End summary. ¶2. (C) Two North Korean refugees are ready to head to their new lives in the U.S. on April 16. KIM Uk Chul (M) and YOON Ok Sun (F) approached the Embassy seeking resettlement in July 2007 (Ref A). They are scheduled to depart Cambodia together to arrive in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 17. ¶3. (SBU) Police Commissioner Hok Lundy, responsible for issuing exit permission for refugees on behalf of the Ministry of Interior, processed the exit request in only a few days. International Organization for Migration (IOM) received word of the refugees' approved status less than one week ago. The Embassy sent a letter to Hok Lundy requesting expedited processing so that the paperwork would not be delayed by the long Khmer New Year national holiday. (Note: many government offices are expected to be closed for a week or longer starting April 11. End note.) ¶4. (C) The two refugees were the fifth and sixth North Koreans to approach the Embassy seeking U.S. resettlement. A group of four approached the Embassy January 17, 2007 (Ref D). In February 2007, one of the original four decided not to pursue U.S. resettlement (Ref B); two others departed for the U.S. on November 19, 2007. Of the six North Korean individuals who were being reviewed by the U.S. for possible resettlement, only one, KIM Myong, will be left in Cambodia after April 16. POLOFF agreed to meet with KIM Myong on April 9 after he had asked IOM staff repeatedly about his delayed processing time compared to the four other refugees. KIM Myong's processing has been in the Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) phase since September 2007 and has already been "refreshed" once due to a six-month expiration of SAOs that have not yet cleared. POLOFF told KIM that he has not been forgotten but that there is no way to estimate how long the processing time will take. The Embassy will work with the Bangkok Refugee Coordinator to request a possible expedited review of the SAO. ¶5. (C) Comment: We are pleased with Police Commissioner Hok Lundy's cooperation in expeditiously processing the exit permits for the two individuals. We have also been impressed at his and other immigration officials' discreet handling of the cases, including at the airport. During the quiet November departure, no one at the airport noticed the North Koreans' comings and goings. We continue to request information about North Koreans in Cambodia be kept close-hold. Please refer to 07 PHNOM PENH 143 for details on the sensitive nature of these cases. As part of IOM's cultural orientation training, IOM counsels North Korean refugees that they are not obliged to talk to the press once they are in the U.S. End comment. MUSSOMELI