Defectors

North Korean defectors arrested by Thai immigration police are in the police car heading toward Bangkok’s northern district court on August 24. Among the entire 175 defectors, 159 people were referred to the court that day, except 16 people with travel certificates issued by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These 16 people, recognized as refugees by UNHCR, are to leave Bangkok for South Korea on August 25. The UNHCR said that the rest of North Korean defectors would soon be allowed to go to South Korea.