US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK5937

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 005937 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2015 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, TH, KN, KS, North Korea (DPRK), Refugee 
SUBJECT: UNHCR UPDATE ON DPRK REFUGEE IN THAILAND 
 
REF: BANGKOK 00484 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER JAMES COLE.  REASON 1.4 (B,D) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  North Korean refugee Mr. Park Tae-Hung 
continues to reside in Thailand illegally and appears to have 
moved from Pattaya to Bangkok.  UNHCR has been in sporadic 
contact with him since June and is prepared to refer him on 
an immediate basis to the ROK Embassy for resettlement. End 
Summary. 
 
2. (C)  Acting Refcoord spoke with UNHCR Chief Protection 
Officer Giuseppe de Vincentis on 15 September to review the 
status of North Korean refugee Park Tae-Hung.  De Vincentis 
confirmed that UNHCR interviewed Park in June and has been in 
sporadic contact with him since.  Ten days ago UNHCR learned 
from a TIME Magazine journalist that Mr. Park recently moved 
from Pattaya to Bangkok. 
 
3.  (C) When queried on the status of his case with UNHCR, de 
Vincentis outlined the current informal "pipeline" that they 
use to resettle North Koreans (Ref).  UNHCR has two criteria 
when interviewing North Koreans: determining that they are 
Korean and that they are willing to relocate to South Korea. 
Once these two requirements have been met, the individual is 
quietly referred to the ROK Embassy in Bangkok which quickly 
handles the resettlement. During their interview of Mr. Park 
in June, UNHCR was able to satisfy the first criterion, but 
Mr. Park appeared only interested in relocating to Japan or 
the U.S. 
 
4.  (C) De Vincentis explained that his office is considering 
contacting Mr. Park to see if he has reconsidered the ROK 
option.  If so, UNHCR would refer him "immediately" to the 
South Korean Embassy for swift resettlement. 
ARVIZU