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An increasing number of North Koreans are allegedly trying to find their way into the U.S. or Europe by posing as recent defectors even though they have lived in South Korea with government support.
Rev. Cheon Ki-won of Durihana Mission, a group that helps North Korean refugees, said about 30 out of 80 North Korean defectors who are in Bangkok applying for U.S. recognition as refugees came from South Korea. They are covering up their time in South Korea in order to qualify for a U.S. visa.
According to Rev. Cheon, some North Koreans who escaped to Thailand through China and some others who had lived in South Korea were arrested by Thai police while scuffling over going to the U.S.
After their arrest, Thai police found that some of the defectors had South Korean passports and expelled them to South Korea. The U.S. government has become more careful in accepting North Korean refugees after the U.S. embassy in Bangkok was alerted to the situation.
Rev. Cheon said that some 20 North Korean escapees left South Korea and are temporarily staying in Britain while trying to find ways to settle in Europe. He said that North Koreans who have failed to adapt to South Korean life want to go to the U.S. and Europe and there are even brokers for them to leave South Korea.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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