Thailand Tightens Borders To Halt North Korean Influx

[george]

Thailand tightens borders to halt North Korean influx

CHIANG RAI: -- Border controls in Thailand's northernmost province of Chiang Rai have been tightened in an attempt to halt the rising numbers of North Koreans attempting to transit Thailand en route to asylum in South Korea.

The measure came after the influx of 91 North Koreans illegal entrants were arrested in the central province of Pathum Thani on Tuesday. Further investigation revealed that they illegally entered to Thailand via Mae Sai district in Thailand's northernmost province of Chiang Rai at the 'Golden Triangle' border with Myanmar. Laos and nearby, southern China.

Police Maj-Gen. Suthep Dejraksa, commander of the Chiang Rai provincial office, said the borderline between Thai and Laos along the Mekong River stretches for many kilometres, making it quite porous and difficult to stop illegal immigrants wishing to enter Thailand.

Police are cooperating with concerned government agencies to come up with stricter measures to prevent illegal North Korean immigrants--seen as 'defectors' in their native land--from entering Thailand, Gen. Suthep said.

But the measures are only a partial solution to the immediate local problem which, he suggested, is a national problem to which the government must pay greater attention.

To solve the influx of illegal Koreans, Gen. Suthep said, talks with Myanmar, Laos and China are necessary, because the asylum-seekers have travelled through the three countries.

Questioning the immigrants has indicated that some South Korean nationals are involved with bringing the North Korean immigrants into Thailand.

Further investigation, he said, is needed to find the offenders and apprehend them.

However, several governments and a number of civil society organisations are concerned to provide humanitarian assistance to the North Koreans, a population they see as peacefully trying to escape a perilous living circumstances at home to seek better lives elsewhere.

--TNA 2006-10-28

[johnnyk]

How the h*ell did they get out of N. Korea and get all the way to Thailand?

[otherstuff1957]

Through China. N. Korea's only borders are S. Korea and China and I think the S. Korean border is closed.

[ding]

Poor N. Koreans. They know their lunatic has painted a bullseye on them for the American's lunatic.

Where are real leaders anymore? Are we all destined to suffer rulers like the Medici's?

[ColPyat]

Where is that now promoted upholding of human rights, please?

Those North Koreans have used that trail of escape for a very long time. It was well known by many, and kept quiet for reasons of compassion. They have never been "illegal immigrants" but used Thailand only as their last point of transit to South Korea.

They have escaped incredible hardship in both North Korea, and in China, where they are always in danger to be caught and sent back, and to be killed on the way through some of the insurgent and drug army infested areas in the Laotian - Burmese borderlands.

Is that now the result of a policy shift by increasingly pro-China/anti-US forces in Thailand, making those refugees victims of that policy shift?

[John K]

Through China. N. Korea's only borders are S. Korea and China and I think the S. Korean border is closed.

Last news I heard was China was building a wall between North Korea at the border.

[Maizefarmer]

Getting out of North Korea along the Chinese border is actualy quite easy: long streatches of China and North Korea are seperated by no more than a river which in the dry season wittles down to a strech of water perhaps 5 - 10m wide and no more than 30cm - 50cm deep. No fences, no border gaurds - on either side.

On the Chinese side a lot of the people who live in those communities are ethnic Koreans who run sme's that trade across the border with N. Korea.

The problem is getting across China to Loas and Thailand - along journey with lots of oppurtunities along the way to get picked up by the Chinese authrorites.

What discourages a lot of N. Koreans from taking the first step is not that it's difficutl to do so, but that the consequences for doing so are extremly unppleasent if things do go wrong and they get sent back.

Co/Pyat's comment about anti-US/pro- Chinese influences in Thailand is interesting. China is without doubt the next super power - not only regionaly but universly. Its influence on Thailand socio-economic development is just strating to manifest it's in a real significant way. My personal opinion is that Chinese influence in Thailand is gowing to grow exponentialy of the next 10 - 15 years. Along with that will come a whole host of Thai foreign policies that favour and encourage capital inflow from China, and in return Thailand will make an effort to appease its new found friend - at the expense of USA appeasement?

Will Thailand become more and more "streached" between China and the USA? Will the USA eventually loose the influence it has here. Good questions.

Will the issue of N/Korean refugees be so significant in the overall scheme of things?

Personally I don't think it will any more so than refugees from Burma or Laos irritate the Thai authorities.

Where the Thai authrorties are really getting fed up is with the Christian and other groups who are using Thailand as a logistic base to financialy and otherwise support (and encourage) N.Korean refugees. That really gets up their nose.

Tim

[ColPyat]

Getting out of North Korea along the Chinese border is actualy quite easy: long streatches of China and North Korea are seperated by no more than a river which in the dry season wittles down to a strech of water perhaps 5 - 10m wide and no more than 30cm - 50cm deep. No fences, no border gaurds - on either side.

On the Chinese side a lot of the people who live in those communities are ethnic Koreans who run sme's that trade across the border with N. Korea.

The problem is getting across China to Loas and Thailand - along journey with lots of oppurtunities along the way to get picked up by the Chinese authrorites.

What discourages a lot of N. Koreans from taking the first step is not that it's difficutl to do so, but that the consequences for doing so are extremly unppleasent if things do go wrong and they get sent back.

Co/Pyat's comment about anti-US/pro- Chinese influences in Thailand is interesting. China is without doubt the next super power - not only regionaly but universly. Its influence on Thailand socio-economic development is just strating to manifest it's in a real significant way. My personal opinion is that Chinese influence in Thailand is gowing to grow exponentialy of the next 10 - 15 years. Along with that will come a whole host of Thai foreign policies that favour and encourage capital inflow from China, and in return Thailand will make an effort to appease its new found friend - at the expense of USA appeasement?

Will Thailand become more and more "streached" between China and the USA? Will the USA eventually loose the influence it has here. Good questions.

Will the issue of N/Korean refugees be so significant in the overall scheme of things?

Personally I don't think it will any more so than refugees from Burma or Laos irritate the Thai authorities.

Where the Thai authrorties are really getting fed up is with the Christian and other groups who are using Thailand as a logistic base to financialy and otherwise support (and encourage) N.Korean refugees. That really gets up their nose.

Tim

I have serious doubts about China being the next superpower. This notion reminds me very much of the tiger state hype of SEA in the 80s/90s, and will very possibly have the same result in a few years. Like it or not - for the foreseeable future the US will be the last and only superpower.

But one thing has happened since some time now, and will now even more so - many army circles in Thailand are getting increasingly anti-US and pro-Chinese, and not just economical reasons, but ideological ones as well (but lets forget communism here, please, that has been over for years in China).

For years the North Korean trail was going on here, and it never irritated the Thai authorities, as these people were just quietly whisked away somewhere else shorty after they arrived. They didn't use Thailand as bases for clandistine operations such as the Hmong, or even bases for open warfare such as the Karen and other Burmese minorities.

Why suddenly now?