North Korean Asylum Seekers Enter Danish Embassy

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000829 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/09/24 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF VM KN SUBJECT: North Korean Asylum Seekers Enter Danish Embassy CLASSIFIED BY: Virginia Palmer, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) 1.B (C) At approximately noon local time on September 24, several individuals claiming to be North Koreans entered the Danish Embassy in Hanoi and requested asylum.B Danish DCM Tove Doegnbol declined to provide Poloff specifics, explaining the issue was unfolding that very moment.B However, the Danish ambassador subsequently confirmed to the press that the individuals are North Korean, although he declined to provide further details. 2.B (C) Press accounts quote a South Korean activist who claims that his organization assisted nine North Koreans gain entry into the embassy.B South Korean Political Counselor Jeong Woo-jin confirmed to Poloff that North Koreans had entered the Danish Embassy but refused further comment. 3.B (C) Post has alerted the Regional Refugee Coordinator, who was about to depart Ulaanbaatar.B We will continue to monitor the situation closely.B We have reviewed our security procedures in light of this incident and are confident we are prepared to avert a similar incident. Michalak