webfact Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 North Koreans arrested for illegal entryNONG KHAI: -- Seven North Korean citizens were arrested in Nong Khai province Tuesday night after they tried to smuggle into Thailand from Laos on board a long-tail boat from Laos.Immigration police chief in Nong Khai Pol Col Panlop Suriytakul Na Ayutthaya said a joint team of immigration and local police and the Mekong River patrol marines was on a patrol along the Mekong River when a long-tail boat with about eight people was spotted heading towards the Thai river bank at Phrao village in Muang district of Nong Khai.But as soon as the authorities shouted for the boat driver to stop, he jumped into the river and swam away leaving his passengers on board.All on board the boat also jumped off in bid to escape.However they were all apprehended.They are four men and three women.They later told police they are North Koreans. They are aged between 22-75 years old.They said they had escaped from North Korea to China first and later smuggle into Laos by bus before taking a boat to cross the river to Thailand.They said they spent five days after escaping out of China to Thailand.Police said they found Thai banknotes worth 15,000 in their possession.Immigration police said all would be sent back and were asking help from South Korean embassy to communicate with these illegal migrants.Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/north-koreans-arrested-for-illegal-entry -- Thai PBS 2015-11-18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman34014 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Oh dear; poor buggers will find themselves being handed back to certain death ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jspill Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Yet they let terrorist bombers in for a few hundred dollars under the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) If they're going to send these poor people anywhere send them to South Korea. If they are sending them back to North Korea I doubt very much whether asking the South Korean embassy to help will work! Edited November 18, 2015 by JAG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Surely South Korea would let them in? Crazy otherwise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 you'd hope the South Koreans claim them as citizens and get them deported back there..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLang Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. Minus the 15,000 baht, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. South Korea could always strike an agreement with the Thai govt to take in these and future North Koreans, but they did not give such an undertaking. We should then ask, "Why not?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaywalker Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. Minus the 15,000 baht, of course. The article does make it sound like having a bit of cash on them was a crime doesn't it? = They probably had 300,000 baht on them, but only 5% of that was reported. I guess the boat driver got away, though I'm sure that 75 year old refugee is a criminal of the highest order. I bet TAT will include them in their tourist figures nonetheless. -------------- I just watched The Way Back (Ed Harris movie) last night on Netflix. It's about some prisoners escaping a WW2 gulag in Siberia. Not the best movie ever, but it does make one think about the plight of refugees. Edited November 18, 2015 by jaywalker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docshock13 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Pray they are given asylum in S. Korea. Certain death awaits them if sent back to the North. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otherstuff1957 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 It is the informal policy of Thailand to deport North Koreans to South Korea. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2007/06/destination-thailand-the-case-of-north-korean-asylum-seekers.html The article above is somewhat dated, but I believe that the policy remains unchanged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 It is the informal policy of Thailand to deport North Koreans to South Korea. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2007/06/destination-thailand-the-case-of-north-korean-asylum-seekers.html The article above is somewhat dated, but I believe that the policy remains unchanged. I really hope that it is still the case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daoyai Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) It is the informal policy of Thailand to deport North Koreans to South Korea. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2007/06/destination-thailand-the-case-of-north-korean-asylum-seekers.html The article above is somewhat dated, but I believe that the policy remains unchanged. Traditionally that has been the case, off to S. K. but who knows with the new and shifting national alliences it wil be interesting to see where they go. They recently sent 2 U.N .recognized political refugees to Red China, democracy activists no less. Edited November 18, 2015 by daoyai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heybruce Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. South Korea could always strike an agreement with the Thai govt to take in these and future North Koreans, but they did not give such an undertaking. We should then ask, "Why not?". It is well known that South Korea accepts all North Korean defectors, after screening them to ensure they aren't spies being planted. If there is a country that doesn't want a formal agreement I assume it is Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 And with the well known Thai welcoming spirit, off they go back to N. Korea, as always. Minus the 15,000 baht, of course. The article does make it sound like having a bit of cash on them was a crime doesn't it? = They probably had 300,000 baht on them, but only 5% of that was reported. I guess the boat driver got away, though I'm sure that 75 year old refugee is a criminal of the highest order. I bet TAT will include them in their tourist figures nonetheless. -------------- I just watched The Way Back (Ed Harris movie) last night on Netflix. It's about some prisoners escaping a WW2 gulag in Siberia. Not the best movie ever, but it does make one think about the plight of refugees. "I bet TAT will include them in their tourist figures nonetheless." 55555555! Good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alration Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 It is the informal policy of Thailand to deport North Koreans to South Korea. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2007/06/destination-thailand-the-case-of-north-korean-asylum-seekers.html The article above is somewhat dated, but I believe that the policy remains unchanged. Traditionally that has been the case, off to S. K. but who knows with the new and shifting national alliences it wil be interesting to see where they go. They recently sent 2 U.N .recognized political refugees to Red China, democracy activists no less. Where or what is Red China? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod reborn Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 15,000 baht. Not even enough to bribe an immigration officer to let one of them enter the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowboat Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Sending them back to North Korea would be unthinkable. The South Koreans will not let that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty1412 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Hello International Incident waiting to happen... South Korea accepts these folks however North Korea then makes stand that these folks are wanted back in NK and that they are illegally being detained by SK and that unless they are repatriated NK might have to act.. nothing good will eventuate here.... sure dont want to see them go back to NK however as I think the bell would be ringing for them....hope Thai authorities have enough sense to also suppress their names as otherwise their families back in NK will suffer ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedtripler Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 15,000 baht. Not even enough to bribe an immigration officer to let one of them enter the country. that was probably their downfall .... didnt bring enough cash ... funny how the boat driver/human trafficker and 7 refugees jumped into the water to escape and every single one was caught except the .................wait.....oho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 It is the informal policy of Thailand to deport North Koreans to South Korea. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2007/06/destination-thailand-the-case-of-north-korean-asylum-seekers.html The article above is somewhat dated, but I believe that the policy remains unchanged. Traditionally that has been the case, off to S. K. but who knows with the new and shifting national alliences it wil be interesting to see where they go. They recently sent 2 U.N .recognized political refugees to Red China, democracy activists no less. Where or what is Red China? and the irony is that most people don't know that the colour red is just a very popular colour in China. (is it my pc or TV's that keeps underlining words which are correctly spelt?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 and I wonder if they were really just passing through on their way to relatives in another country. The Thais would never think to offer assistance. Also, why didn't they claim asylum? I think even Thailand is signatory to certain international agreements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emster23 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) China doesn't like refugees to flee through their country, so may pressure Thailand to send them back Edited November 18, 2015 by Emster23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humqdpf Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 The aim of these North Koreans is invariably to make their way to the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok. Worst possible scenario is they are captured in Laos - there they will spend some time in the really rotten prison for foreigners before being sent back to North Korea to a certain death. Laos is close to North Korea ideologically. Getting caught in China is unsure - they can be sent back but there seems to be at least some chance of being allowed to stay as there are some north Koreans living in China. Getting caught in Thailand is usually not as bad - although Thailand is not a signatory to many international agreements, generally speaking if they are caught they have a chance of the South Korean embassy claiming them by offering them citizenship or laissez passer papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Oh dear; poor buggers will find themselves being handed back to certain death ! Why do you think so? Prison term maybe..... There is also a lot North Koreans who escaped and later went back to North Korea....The regime always makes a big show of it let them tell in TV how bad it is in the West and how happy they are to be back in paradise NK..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickJ Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 They wont be sent to N. Korea.....There is a vast network in place, an underground railroad. I just think the Thai's should have just kept this out of the press. Waving a red flag kind off thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Pray they are given asylum in S. Korea. Certain death awaits them if sent back to the North. Jail time and a kicking is more likely these days. The economy and food situation is improving and the DPRK authorities generally just aren't as bothered about things like this as they uzed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Pray they are given asylum in S. Korea. Certain death awaits them if sent back to the North. Jail time and a kicking is more likely these days. The economy and food situation is improving and the DPRK authorities generally just aren't as bothered about things like this as they uzed to be. Actually I read from great improvements and a middle class forming. Of course from their level an increase of 20% is still not much. But it seems the fatty is doing better than his dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Wonderful Thailand, sending them back to their death. Thailand is such a wonderful friend to NK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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