US embassy cable - 05MANILA249

UNCLAS MANILA 000249 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/MESTETSKY, EAP/K, AND EAP/PMBS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KN, KS, RP 
SUBJECT: NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN THE PHILIPPINES 
 
REF: 04 STATE 275820 
 
1.  (U) North Koreans have access to the same international 
protection offered other refugee groups in the Philippines. 
The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia to have 
signed the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and to have an 
institutionalized regime of refugee protection.  The 
Department of Justice has a dedicated office (the Refugee 
Processing Unit) focused on refugee issues. 
 
2.  (U) Post has had no experience with North Korean asylum 
seekers or refugees.  However, standard procedures are in 
place to handle potential cases.  There are no special 
security challenges to handling North Koreans, and sufficient 
policy and press guidance exists for this eventuality. 
 
3.  (SBU) In informal January 11 discussions, Department of 
Foreign Affairs' Director for Northeast Asia Ms. Manina Rueca 
told poloff that she personally would welcome USG-funded 
humanitarian assistance for North Koreans in the Philippines, 
calling such an initiative a "humanitarian gesture." 
However, she reacted coolly to the idea of a US refugee 
resettlement program for North Koreans in the Philippines, 
calling it "very sensitive."  She cautioned that any 
potential program would require extensive discussion and 
consultation. 
 
4.  (SBU) Rico Salcedo, the officer in charge of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Manila, told 
PolOff separately that the Refugee Processing Unit, to which 
the UNHCR provided technical support and served as an 
advisor, operated efficiently in adjudicating refugee claims. 
 Salcedo noted that the GRP's approach to refugees was 
"humanitarian."  North Korean asylum seekers would get 
favorable treatment, he stated. 
 
5.  (SBU) Salcedo observed that the Department of Foreign 
Affairs had quietly instituted an agreement with the South 
Korean government to facilitate the transit of North Korean 
refugees from third countries to South Korea.  The volume of 
transits had increased significantly during the last two 
years, reaching nearly 500 refugees annually, traveling in 
groups as large as 60 people. 
 
6.  (SBU) South Korean Political Counselor Kwon Sae-young 
noted to A/DCM and PolOff January 14 that all of the North 
Koreans transiting the Philippines to Seoul originated from 
China, some of them apparently long-time residents of the 
PRC.  (Note: Kwon bristled at the use of the word "refugees," 
insisting instead that they be called "displaced persons." 
End note.)  Kwon said his government appreciated the 
Philippines' low-key and helpful approach to this issue.  He 
insisted that none actually entered Manila; they all only 
transited the Manila airport using travel documents provided 
by the South Korean Embassy in Beijing.  He added that there 
had never been an incident of a North Korean attempting to 
gain access to the South Korean Embassy here. 
Ricciardone