[imText1]The Thai government publicly announced their plan to send 52 defectors who were captured while illegally entering through the Laos-Myanmar border back to North Korea.
Until recently, the Thai government has been releasing defectors after giving them a light punishment. Therefore, most of them have been able to come into South Korea.
The Thai police revealed their “plan to send all defectors to the Chiang Rai Province Court, to sentence them for the crime of illegal entry, and to send them back to North Korea.” The “Back to North Korea” policy of the government, which had previously taken a relatively moderate stance towards defectors, has North Korean refugee aid organizations and defectors concerned.
◆ 52 defectors’ Korea-bound itinerary = As a whole, NGO activists who are familiar with the local situation believe that the possibility of the Thai government forcedly sending defectors to North Korea is yet slim.
The reasons for this are that United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is stationed in Thailand and the Thai government has traditionally adopted a hospitable policy in regards to humanitarian issues. It also considers of importance its foreign relations with the U.S. and South Korea.
A domestic refugee aid organization activist remarked, “the surge of illegal entrance of defectors is giving the Thai government a headache, so the possibility exists of tightening border control.”
Thailand has not signed the “United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” and thus does not acknowledge the vulnerable position of defectors. However, according to domestic laws, the government has regarded defectors as illegal entrants and has given light sentences such as a 6,000 baht (approx. US$172) penalty or detention equivalent to that amount, daily.
Do Hee Yun, head of the Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, in a phone conversation with Daily NK, forecasted, “Thailand has shown a hospitable position towards the refugee problems in Myanmar and Vietnam. However, it will be difficult for Thailand to actually send defectors to North Korea, given the international spotlight on China for forcibly sending defectors to back to North Korea.”
◆ A Warning to send defectors back to North Korea to prevent illegal entry = In 2005, there were 50 defectors who were arrested by the police, but as Thailand became a middle point of passage for the destination countries (South Korea or the U.S.), the number rose to 400. In the Thai Immigration Office, there are 150 who are being imprisoned and awaiting being sent to South Korea or other developed countries.
Thai information specialists estimate the number of defectors hiding within the city of Bangkok as several thousand, at the very least, to some ten thousand. The Thai government fears other criminal or societal problems if defectors continue to surge at this rate.
Subsequently, it is probably that Thailand revealed its unprecedented decision to send defectors back to North Korea to reduce their illegal entry.
Also, the Thai government has repeatedly received requests from the North Korean Embassy in Thailand “to cooperate with the refugee (defector) problem as it is a problem of the fatherland.” The Thai government, with the rise of defectors, must have evaluated it cannot tacitly consent to the request of the North’s embassy, hence the public allusion to send defectors back to North Korea.
◆ The reason for defectors crowding into Thailand = It is predicted that the defectors’ illegal entrance will not significantly decrease even if the Thai government tightens its border control and publicly gives the warning of sending them to North Korea.
Strengthening border control will not have too much of an effect, as the Chiang Rai-Laos-China border region in the Northern part of Thailand is a dense jungle area, so defectors can easily use this as an entry route.
The defectors who are hiding out in similar places in China select Thailand as the place with the highest possibility of going to South Korea or the other third destination countries like the U.S. When defectors defect to the Mongol region, the climate and regional geographic dangers are even greater. To go to the Mongol region, they have to climb over rough mountain ranges, but if they head towards Thailand, they can cross rivers in the warm climate, which is less risky.
Also, over 90% of defectors choose to enter Thailand through Laos rather than go to Vietnam, where regulation is very strict, and Myanmar, where the risks of robbery and violence are greater. Kim Chul Man (pseudonym) who entered Korea through Thailand in beginning of 2006, said, “Almost all of those who are hiding in China try to go to Thailand. After hearing that many defectors entered South Korea after going through Thailand, I naturally selected the Thailand course.”
