The foreign minister said if refugees are confirmed to be North Korean defectors, they are provided room and board until they are sent to another country that would accept them (usually South Korea). He said his government does not repatriate those who cross the border into Mongolia back across the border to China. He also said Mongolian border guards have already received orders not to hand North Korean defectors over to Chinese authorities.

The foreign minister, speaking frankly, said he didn't want any form of refugee camp set up in Mongolia, and his government was not considering establishing such camps on Mongolian territory anytime in the near future.

The IHT said the North Korean embassy in Ulaan Baatar, which had been closed for five years, was re-opened three months ago when signs appeared that Mongolia would become a strategic midway point for defectors. The paper said this was a measure taken in order to block Mongolia from becoming a defector support point for South Korean and U.S. civic groups following the passing of the North Korean Human Rights Act in the United States.

The paper said South Korea had to move a protection center for defectors a few weeks ago out of concern for possible North Korean infiltration or interference attempts. Korean Christian ministers said protection centers had to be operated under the United Nations.

The IHT said U.S. and South Korean defector support groups hoped Mongolia could play the role played by Portugal during World War II -- a neutral nation where defectors could stay until they moved on to another country.

The paper said human rights groups stated that with a population of 2.4 million, Mongolia was one of the least densely populated nations in the world, and there was enough space to place defectors.

In fact, the IHT added, U.N. refugee bodies, Korean government officials and lawmakers, and Korean Christian ministers visited Mongolia last month to secretly learn the situation in the country.

(Kim Jae-ho, jaeho@chosun.com )