Thailand Detains N Korea migrants

Thai police have detained 175 North Koreans in a raid on a house in suburban Bangkok.
It is the largest group of North Koreans ever suspected of illegally entering Thailand, officials say.

The group, most of them women and children, will be charged with illegal entry and face possible deportation to a third country, according to police.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have tried to leave their country in recent years, fleeing hunger and repression.

They often seek asylum at the embassies of third countries, but many are thought to be in hiding in South East Asia.

Crowded building

Officers raided the house late on Tuesday night, after receiving a tip-off from neighbours.


They found a total of 45 males and 130 females inside the building in Bangkok's Huay Kwang district. Twenty-five of the group were children.
Of these people, 16 had already been processed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and were soon due to leave Thailand for South Korea.

The other 159 are thought to have no documents, but are also reportedly seeking asylum.

"This is the biggest single arrest of North Koreans" in Thailand, Police Major General Pramoj Pathumwong told Reuters news agency.

Most North Koreans who manage to leave their impoverished homeland travel across the border to a region of north-east China populated by ethnic Koreans, but they face repatriation if caught by the Chinese authorities.

Some then manage to cross China to reach South East Asia, where they have the chance of being sent on to South Korea. Most of these transfers are done outside the public gaze, to avoid confrontations with Pyongyang.

But on rare occasions, these transfers become public knowledge. In July 2004, more than 460 refugees arrived in South Korea on a special flight from an unnamed third country, thought by analysts to be Vietnam.

There have also been many cases of North Koreans targeting foreign embassies in China, in the hope of seeking asylum.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/5277046.stm

Published: 2006/08/23 05:28:27 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Note: Why does the press call North Korean political refugees "migrants?" In the same tone as China, BBC press has used a less political-heavy term perhaps as a euphemism for the political situation in the Korean Peninsula. Is this acceptable?

North Korea to Accept UN Food Aid

The UN food agency says North Korea has agreed to accept emergency food aid in the wake of heavy flooding in July.
The decision is a reversal for Pyongyang, which said previously that it did not need international help and could manage by itself.

North Korea was hit by torrential rains and high winds last month.

Official media said the severe weather killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless, as well as damaging large tracts of agricultural land.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement that it would supply 150 metric tons of food to feed 13,000 residents in South Phyongan province, 80km (50 miles) east of the capital.

North Korea also agreed on Thursday to send its Red Cross officials to meet counterparts in South Korea on Saturday to discuss food and reconstruction aid.

Secretive

The moves come amid differing reports on the scale of the flood damage in the North.

North Korean news agency KCNA said that "hundreds" died, while a pro-Pyongyang Japan-based daily put the toll at 549.

One activist group in Seoul has suggested the number of casualties is well into the thousands, but aid officials have played this down.

North Korea is secretive about releasing details of accidents or natural disasters, making any confirmation of the extent of the flooding difficult.

But Pyongyang has cancelled a mass gymnastics display, called Arirang, which is a key source of income for the nation, to focus, it says, on recovering from the floods.

North Korea is already reliant on foreign donations to feed its people.

The WFP began working in the country in the mid 1990s, after about two million people died from famine.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/5263344.stm

Published: 2006/08/18 12:26:14 GMT

© BBC MMVI

'549' Dead in N Korea Floods

At least 549 people died and another 295 are still missing as a result of floods which struck North Korea last month, a pro-Pyongyang daily said.
Days of heavy rain caused flooding which North Korean media have already confirmed led to "hundreds" of deaths.

But the figures, from the Japan-based daily, are the most specific released so far on the extent of the disaster.

Last month, the UN food agency estimated that about 60,000 people had been left homeless by the flooding.

The Choson Shinbo newspaper is based in Japan and is run by a pro-North Korea association.

Over 7,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, the daily said, and almost 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of farmland had been washed away.

"Recovery efforts are proceeding at rapid speed as relief supplies are being sent to the afflicted areas," the daily said on its web site.

Secretive

In South Korea, opposition Grand National Party leader Kang Jae-sup urged that a fact-finding mission be sent to the North to determine the full extent of the damage there, Yonhap news agency reported.

One activists' group has suggested that the number of dead or missing is as high as 10,000, but has not said where it obtained the information.

North Korea is secretive about releasing details of accidents or natural disasters, making any confirmation of the extent of the flooding difficult.

But Pyongyang has cancelled a mass gymnastics display, called Arirang, which is a key source of income for the nation, to focus, it says, on recovering from the floods.

North Korea has refused offers from international agencies to launch appeals on its behalf, but an official said last week that Pyongyang would accept aid from the South if it came with no strings attached.

South Korea has suspended food aid to the North because of concerns over deadlocked talks on its nuclear programme and Pyongyang's recent missile tests.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/5251496.stm

Published: 2006/08/07 06:21:58 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Commentary: The cause of the 1994-1997 famine was droughts, which destroyed North Korea's agriculture. These floods seem to have caused similar damage. While the article claims that "recovery efforts are proceeding at rapid speed" this assertation can be completely without evidence. Because South Korea currently refuses to provide aid due to the North's recent missile tests, the next few months should provide a good picture of how effective international aid really is in North Korea- that is, if food really gets to their people when it matters most.