US embassy cable - 04HOCHIMINHCITY1024

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL, PRM, EAP/P 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREF, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, KS, KN, CH, VM, DPRK 
SUBJECT: (SBU)  DPRK REFUGEE "UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" RUNS THROUGH 
HCMC 
 
 
1.  (SBU) We met August 3 with a counterpart at the ROK Consulate 
in HCMC to follow up on press reports that the four hundred and 
fifty North Korean refugees that defected recently to South Korea 
did so via HCMC.  (On July 27 and July 28, 450 North Koreans 
refugees arrived in Seoul, the single largest defection since the 
end of the Korean War in 1953.  A Seoul-based NGO, the Commission 
to Help North Korean Refugees, announced that the refugees had 
been residing for months in safe houses provided by South Korean 
residents in HCMC.  The NGO also announced that the two charter 
aircraft carried the refugees to Seoul from HCMC.) 
 
2. (SBU) Our ROK colleague confirmed that the refugees were 
transferred from China across the Vietnamese border and then 
transported via Hanoi to HCMC.  In HCMC they were housed with 
sympathizers in the 12,000 strong South Korean community in the 
HCMC area.  The ROK counterpart said that the operation was run by 
the chief of the "National Security Academy" section in the ROK 
Embassy in Hanoi. 
 
3. (SBU) When asked how 450 undocumented North Korean refugees 
could pass through Vietnamese immigration and customs checks at 
Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC, the ROK representative replied that 
the refugees were provided documentation showing that they were 
"South Korean laborers" returning to Korea.  A separate Vietnamese 
source confirmed that airport immigration processed hundreds of 
Korean workers who allegedly prolonged their stay in Vietnam after 
their labor contracts expired.  Our source said the Koreans were 
repatriated under the supervision of Vietnamese authorities and in 
coordination with the Korean Consulate in HCMC.  He expressed 
skepticism over the cover story, but said that local authorities 
considered the matter to be sensitive and ordered it not be 
discussed further.  GVN sensitivity to the issue also was 
reflected in the absence of any reporting in the state-controlled 
media, despite the story being picked up by the international 
press. 
 
4. (SBU) Our ROK colleague said that the GVN was "angry" that the 
Korean press leaked the details of the repatriation operation.  He 
acknowledged that Vietnam was placed in an awkward situation, as 
it strives to maintain good relations with both North and South 
Korea. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment:  The implication of our discussions with our 
contacts is that the GVN quietly collaborated with the ROK to 
assist in the humanitarian repatriation of North Korean refugees 
to the South.  What was in it for the GVN is unclear, as exposure 
of the program could create frictions with the DPRK and even with 
China, given its sensitivity on the issue.  Our ROK colleague 
expressed disgust and the Korean press, which broke the story and 
fretted about the implications of the leak for the future of the 
North Korean refugee "underground railroad."  End Comment. 
 
CHERN