A total of 500 North Koreans were repatriated to Seoul from Bangkok last year. The Unification Ministry in Seoul was quite happy with the kind assistance Thailand has been providing but refused to elaborate. Officials here declined to discuss the matter in detail for fear that it would jeopardise the ongoing discreet arrangement.

Kim Jung Tae, the deputy minister for the headquarters of social and cultural exchange at the Unification Ministry, told The Nation last week that since the end of the Korean War, his government has taken in at least 10,000 North Korean defectors from various parts of the world. China and Thailand topped the list of countries used as transit points for repatriation. Last year alone, 30 per cent of North Koreans who settled in South Korea came from China. Thailand ranked second with 16 per cent during the same period. There were other countries used as transit points for refugees that authorities here did not want to reveal. Since they share a common border with China, disenchanted North Koreans naturally prefer to cross over into that country to escape their isolated nation. However, the Chinese government has not accepted all of them. It became necessary for China to push back some of the North Koreans in order to discourage them from coming; otherwise the country would have to deal with a huge influx of refugees. These days, however, with assistance from international humanitarian groups, these freedom seekers have taken different routes, trekking thousands of kilometres from the North towards the Golden Triangle area where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet.

Once they arrive at border areas adjacent to Thailand, either from the Burmese or Laotian side, they know that their freedom will be guaranteed because the Thai government will not expel them. Of course, they are detained and subsequently fined, which is just a formality. Ironically, while the Thai action towards North Koreans is laudable, its record on the treatment of the Hmong and Karen is the opposite. Bangkok has repeatedly attempted to expel these refugees by force.

From time to time, people who do not know the complexity of the situation facing asylum seekers might be upset by news headlines about yet another police raid on illegal North Koreans congregated in a posh condominium in central Bangkok. Since the arrangements are discreet and not known to other Thai inter-government agencies, some members of these agencies just want to do their jobs and issue arrest warrants, thus making news headlines without knowing the future implication of their actions.

While there is a tacit agreement between various international stakeholders such as South Korea and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as to the procedures for dealing with refugees arriving at the Thai border, district police officers, especially in Bangkok, might not have a clue about the great games that have been going on related to the asylum seeker's saga. The US has helped to resettle a dozen or so North Koreans, especially those with knowledge of the country's weapons of mass destruction. They are given a visa due to a special law enacted by the Congress on North Korea. 

Of course, Thailand's involvement in the Korean Peninsula dates back nearly 60 years when Thai troops joined international forces under the United Nations' banner to fight in the Korean War. Even today at the Panmunjom demilitarised zone, a Thai flag can be spotted along with those of 22 nations that contributed troops in the very room where the armistice treaty ending the war was signed in 1953. Ten years ago, Pyongyang officially asked Thailand to consider withdrawing its flag from the DMZ as a sign of the warming Thai-North Korean friendship, however there has been no response to this day.

In 2000, as the host of the Asean Regional Forum in Bangkok, former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan was instrumental in convincing North Korea to join a region-wide security forum. Another former foreign minister, Kantathi Suphamongkhon, also showed keen interest in facilitating six-party talks, stressing the positive ties Thailand had with both Koreas during his 2005-2006 tenure.

For several thousand defectors, ending their plight back in North Korea was the easy part. Once their new lives in South Korea start to roll, life can become much more complicated and problematic. It has been so tough that the South Korean government has had to allocate a great deal of financial and human resources to help them settle into mainstream Korean society. According to Kim, only 73 per cent of North Koreans who have settled in South Korea have been successful - that is, they are able to take care of themselves and their families with proper jobs and education for their children.

Apparently, the Seoul government is not happy with that number, as it wants all brothers and sisters from the North to assimilate completely in the South. Every year the government allocates 50 billion won (Bt1.7 trillion) to assist them during their transitional years. Several centres have been established to help acquaint the newcomers with the new culture, values and other social matters as well as find them jobs. Coming from a socialist environment where the state takes complete control over their lives from birth to the graveyard, these asylum seekers sometimes have unrealistic expectations of Seoul. They want the government to help and be a part of their lives forever.

As incentives for companies employing North Koreans, government agencies and state enterprises will take the necessary steps to purchase their products or use their services. Meanwhile, to encourage newcomers to get jobs, they are provided training in various vocations. The government also provides additional money to these defectors knowing full well that they will receive substandard salaries.

Kavi Chongkittavorn