Thailand struggles with North Korean refugees
- Asia Security Monitor, No. 155, March 1, 2006
February 19: Thai officials are now seeking to boost security
on their country's northern border with China in an effort to
block a steady stream of illegal North Korean immigrants. According
to the Bangkok Post, after gaining entry most of the refugees
surrender to local Thai police in hopes of being processed by
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and sent to
South Korea. Since 2003, authorities in the Thai province of Chiang
Rai have arrested 227 North Korean defectors, shipping 166 of
the 227 to Seoul and keeping the rest under detention. According
to police reports based on interviews with the detainees, most
of them slipped into China before boarding Chinese cargo ships
to take them along the Mekong River to Muang Mom across the river
in Laos' Bokeo Province. Police have warned boat-owners that their
vessels will be seized if they are caught aiding the defectors
and workers on Chinese cargo ships could face imprisonment.
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