South Korea’s president has instructed officials to look into setting up regional refugee camps for the growing number of North Koreans fleeing the Stalinist nation, a ruling party lawmaker said yesterday.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who took office in February, has promised not to shy away from criticizing the North and recently asked his Chinese counterpart to cooperate on ensuring that defectors aren’t forced to return to the impoverished nation.
Lee ordered his government to quickly review ideas for setting up refugee camps — at least in Thailand — said an aide for Hong Jung-wook, a lawmaker from the ruling Grand National Party. Hong’s office said it obtained a transcript of Lee’s March directive from the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.
His orders mark a departure from South Korea’s previous two presidents, both liberals, who abstained from publicly raising the issue of North Korean defectors for fear of angering their northern communist neighbor as Seoul sought reconciliation with Pyongyang.
As a key ally of the North, China views North Korean defectors as “economic migrants,” not political refugees, and is obligated to repatriate them as required by a bilateral treaty.
Lee also instructed officials to consult with Mongolia and Russia on creating refugee zones there unless Beijing changes its policy.
South Korea’s Foreign and Unification Ministries yesterday declined to confirm whether Seoul was in talks with other countries, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
Thousands of people have fled North Korea in recent years, citing hunger and harsh political oppression. Many have escaped through a long and risky land journey through China to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries on their way to asylum. Most end up in South Korea, which now is home to nearly 14,000 North Korean defectors.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS