CHIANG RAI
15 North Koreans detained Sunday
June 8, 2014 2:44 pm

CHIANG RAI: -- Fifteen North Koreans were detained on Sunday in Chiang Rai province for allegedly entering Thai territory without permit.

A combined force of Navy, police and Pa Muang Task force found the group during a routine patrol as they were walking from a Mekong river bank to Golden Triangle - Chiang Saen Road in Chiang Saen district.

A man on a long-tailed boat who was suspected of dropping the group at the Thai river bank sped away when he saw the officials.

Initial investigation showed that they were from an area near the Chinese border and they fled North Korea by sneaking to Yunnan province of China before travelling by boat along Mekong River to Chiang Rai.

Police said the group used Thailand as a transit to go to a third country.

-- The Nation 2014-06-08

Wish them all the best!

Who can blame anyone for trying to escape from North Korea? South Korea will be happy to give them asylum.

Hoping they don't hand them back to NK like they did with the Hmong back to Laos where they were never seen again.

Who can blame anyone for trying to escape from North Korea? South Korea will be happy to give them asylum.

I thought it was more difficult to get out than get into north korea.If they really did escape then heads are going to roll among the korean border guards. They could also be north korean agents who knows?

"Police said the group used Thailand as a transit to go to a third country."

They didn't actually use Thailand for anything if they got arrested, did they PC Plod?

Initial investigation showed that they were from an area near the Chinese border and they fled North Korea by sneaking to Yunnan province of China before travelling by boat along Mekong River to Chiang Rai.

Gotta give credit to those sneaky North Koreans looking for a better life. From N.Korea to Yunnan well over 3000 kms. One tough journey I bet.

please don't send them back.

they go through thailand to get to sth korea if thais send them back they wont be seen again..unforgivable you can get out of nk..crossing into china dangerous but doable the chinese also send them back if they are caught..also discusting knowing full well the fate that awaits these desperate poor souls..inhume is a kind word coming from me..

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

they will be given asylum status, before going anywhere they chose to. Slow news day. So far now arrests in bkk

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

vile really vile post..your ignorance is outstanding this afternoon..you really should delete your post ...

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

vile really vile post..your ignorance is outstanding this afternoon..you really should delete your post ...

No! They are law breakers.

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they will be given asylum status, before going anywhere they chose to. Slow news day. So far now arrests in bkk

As Thailand is a member of the UN, I would hope that they are treated as asylum seekers and given that status by Thailand Immigration, nothing else is permissible.

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

vile really vile post..your ignorance is outstanding this afternoon..you really should delete your post ...

No! They are law breakers.

WHAT law? Oh. you mean the ones that the short, fat guy with a really bad haircut imposes at the point of gun? The same guy who decided, all on his own, without a shred of actual fact, declared his own uncle a "traitor, and then fed him to a pack of starved dogs? Is THAT the law you are talking about? Tell you what, since you are so "law abiding" and such a keyboard King Kong, why don't you go back with them and show them how it's done

DISGUSTING A$$HOLE!!

Please tone it down a notch.

1 post with profanity has been removed.

In 2006.......

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangkok:-91-asylum-seekers-to-be-deported-to-North-Korea-7598.html#

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

vile really vile post..your ignorance is outstanding this afternoon..you really should delete your post ...

No! They are law breakers.

WHAT law? Oh. you mean the ones that the short, fat guy with a really bad haircut imposes at the point of gun? The same guy who decided, all on his own, without a shred of actual fact, declared his own uncle a "traitor, and then fed him to a pack of starved dogs? Is THAT the law you are talking about? Tell you what, since you are so "law abiding" and such a keyboard King Kong, why don't you go back with them and show them how it's done

DISGUSTING <deleted>!!

Hopefully the policy of turning such people over to the SK embasy will remain unchanged.... they face a hard road ahead adapting to a new language (modern Korean) and the competative modern society, at least they will be well fed, maybe for the first time in their lives.

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

Boo! Boo! Bad form.

The Thais know about the desert they call N Korea. They usually port them to South Korea, quietly, no losing face and causing indignation. I wish they would not have run this story at all. It could be a lot harder not to send them back to Hades now.

I was there. I saw it. It's not pretty.

It's a bit of a wasteland, with rural pockets of civility. The cities are very clean, very somber, very quiet stone cages. The faces are sad and hungry.

I will never forget the children's eyes, each one as empty as a shirt pocket. And they love their leaders, sadly. Dennis Rodman was given the special tour. He never saw what I saw.

If it was legal, I would adopt them all and take them to my home. Actually, I would take them to South Korea -- the people there are wonderful in their own way, rugged as their mountains and the most polite people I have ever met on planet earth.

Compared to N Korea, the worst parts of Thailand are Paradise.

There has been a route for people fleeing NK for years, if they could get to Thailand and the SK embassy, they were considered safe. Thailand has been turning a blind eye to these poor people for years. They are fleeing a military dictatorship and will be given new lives in democratic SK.

Now that Thailand has a military dictatorship they are arresting NK refugees. I hopethey are not sent back, but worry that they might be.

Will the Thai Junta support the democratic SK or the Military dictatorship in NK?

Under the present censorship rules in Thailand we probably will never know. what a sorry state we are in.

HAVE SEEN NK TOURISTS IN THAILAND. WHY DIDNT THEY COME BY PLANE. not going to retype.

there is a direct airlink.

No All flights are via Beijing.

Only NK officials can leave. Most NK can't get a passport, let alone money to travel

The Chinese send NK escapes back to an almost certain death for them and often many of their families

So to get to SK they have to cross China to another country who will give them assylum through an SK Embassy and they will be flown to SK

Thailand has an agreement to treat them as asylum seekers. I watched the VICE HBO documentary on it season 2 episode 2.

There has been a route for people fleeing NK for years, if they could get to Thailand and the SK embassy, they were considered safe. Thailand has been turning a blind eye to these poor people for years. They are fleeing a military dictatorship and will be given new lives in democratic SK.

Now that Thailand has a military dictatorship they are arresting NK refugees. I hopethey are not sent back, but worry that they might be.

Will the Thai Junta support the democratic SK or the Military dictatorship in NK?

Under the present censorship rules in Thailand we probably will never know. what a sorry state we are in.

North Koreans have always been arrested for illegal entry and thrown in local police jails in Thailand where they stay until transported to the immigration jail in Bangkok. Then they wait for more months until the South Korean embassy sort out the paper work, it's a very slow process.

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The Thais know about the desert they call N Korea. They usually port them to South Korea, quietly, no losing face and causing indignation. I wish they would not have run this story at all. It could be a lot harder not to send them back to Hades now.

I was there. I saw it. It's not pretty.

It's a bit of a wasteland, with rural pockets of civility. The cities are very clean, very somber, very quiet stone cages. The faces are sad and hungry.

I will never forget the children's eyes, each one as empty as a shirt pocket. And they love their leaders, sadly. Dennis Rodman was given the special tour. He never saw what I saw.

If it was legal, I would adopt them all and take them to my home. Actually, I would take them to South Korea -- the people there are wonderful in their own way, rugged as their mountains and the most polite people I have ever met on planet earth.

Compared to N Korea, the worst parts of Thailand are Paradise.

You mean like the Klong Toey slum?

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

There are many idiots in the world, and thus, statistically there are quite a few in this TVF subculture.

That post serves to exemplify my point.

There has been a route for people fleeing NK for years, if they could get to Thailand and the SK embassy, they were considered safe. Thailand has been turning a blind eye to these poor people for years. They are fleeing a military dictatorship and will be given new lives in democratic SK.

Now that Thailand has a military dictatorship they are arresting NK refugees. I hopethey are not sent back, but worry that they might be.

Will the Thai Junta support the democratic SK or the Military dictatorship in NK?

Under the present censorship rules in Thailand we probably will never know. what a sorry state we are in.

North Koreans have always been arrested for illegal entry and thrown in local police jails in Thailand where they stay until transported to the immigration jail in Bangkok. Then they wait for more months until the South Korean embassy sort out the paper work, it's a very slow process.

The documentary that I saw had a group of NK refugees that made it to the SK embassy and were given temp documents the very same day. That was under a democratic government here. I cannot find any other cases where they were arrested in Thailand, I believe that this is unusual and worry that it is a new thing under the Junta. I hope you are right and that our Junta are not as bad as I think that they might be.

We will probbly never know the truth under the present censorship of the press.

Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

There are many idiots in the world, and thus, statistically there are quite a few in this TVF subculture.

I think you maybe being a little hard on yourself there " Stallion ".

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Send them straight back to where they come from. If they want a better life then they, along with their fellow countryman, need to fight for one.

vile really vile post..your ignorance is outstanding this afternoon..you really should delete your post ...

No! They are law breakers.

Well winstonc , to err is human and you did give him a chance to redeem himself, But............he chose not to.

If they have broken any law Coma then it can be no worse of a transgression than the law you break every time you breath and further sustain the empty, soulless, un-compassionate life of yours.

These people deserve a slap up meal, a hot bath, a nice hotel and a sponsor, where can I donate. They have just been caught at the end of a journey that took more balls than most of us on Thai Visa could muster together in a life time. Wow!