Comments on: Thai Government to Return North Korean Defectors

By: Thai Court Sends Woman to Jail for Aiding Refugees

Thai Court Sends Woman to Jail for Aiding Refugees — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:34:52 +0000

[...] has been threatening to crackdown on the defectors and send them home. However, they have been holding off on doing this and now appear to be focusing on going after [...]

By: NK Defectors Go On Hunger Strike at ROK Drop

NK Defectors Go On Hunger Strike at ROK Drop — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:51:16 +0000

[...] is holding roughly 400 North Korean defectors in their jails and has threatened to return them to North Korea.Â Now the defectors are all going on a hunger strike in order to draw attention to [...]

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 19:35:56 +0000

I don’t know how deep or wide knowledge of the outside world is among the elite. I say that because I remember a Korean professor in the US telling us about a delegation of North Koreans who went to Hawaii, and he was showing them around Oahu, and he took them to a Korean Buddhist Temple set up by the large and long term Korean community on the island. He said one of the North Koreans showed he was knowledgable and like you might expect out of a high level government person, but he said the other asked as they were driving by a large church later that day if Christianity and Buddhism were the same thing…….and he said that one high ranking official routinely showed great ignorance about the outside world…..???….

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:43:06 +0000

I think the people would obey orders to follow any doomsday orders but I don’t think it is a 100% guarantee the regime elite will. The regime elite has plenty of access to the outside world compared to average citizens and thus are not indoctrinated as the average citizen. They do Kim’s bidding to keep their privledged status. If Kim can’t ensure their privledged status than they may look for better alternatives.

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:35:00 +0000

I think the very top will strike out to take as many with them as possible. But, it might end up like Hitler’s bunker as the Russians closed in……where the generals simply refused to carry out the scorched earth orders.

It is a gamble if we followed a topple-NK policy, (but I’m becoming more convinced it is the right thing to do).

One key difference between Germany and NK is that Hitler didn’t have 50 years of indocrtination on his masses. Maybe his generals will be more willing to follow doom’s day orders……

If you think about the Japanese occupation too and then the Hermit Kingdom status, especially in the area that is now North Korea —- German’s society was a hell of a lot more in tune with world thought and news and ethics and what not than the generations of North Korea. They are in much more of an information vaccum and might follow Kim Jong Il to hell…

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 10:20:18 +0000

I’m not totally convinced the regime would go out with a bang if the regime was on the verge of collapse. Think about it, if the regime collapsed what would the power elite mainly the NK generals gain from launching an all out war that would lead to their destruction?

If the regime collapsed and these power elites worked with the occupation force instead they could still ensure themselves a place in a future unified Korea. What worries me though is that a Chinese occupation force may be the first ones to respond to a regime collapse because the ROK has no contigency plan to respond to NK collapse before the Chinese do. If the Chinese move in I highly doubt we will see a unified Korean peninsula.

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:20:16 +0000

Working on NK issues this week, I’ve gotten to where I’m getting somewhat annoyed with the refugee prevention angle you hear from a lot of the top government type people. Things like how nobody wants to see 22 million refugees flowing across the borders and yada yada yada…

True.

But, I think we can handle it. A tsumami or hurricane wipes out large sections of land and creates total destruction, and we handle it. Two major world wars that flattened cities, and we handled it. South Korea flattened as armies yo-yoed up and down the peninsula, and we handled it…..

22 million refugees? So, the whole of NK is going to leave that lands, right? Sure guys….sure….

And the US, Japan, SK, EU, China, and so on don’t have the money, man-power, logistical technology and infrastructure to handle a NK collapse….? Sure….yeah….whatever….

It really boils down to not wanting to be inconvienced with a touch of “if NK collapses, the regime will probably go out with tha bank by unloading its missiles and artillery….

By: CPT KIM

CPT KIM — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:48:33 +0000

I think Thai Govt is sending a messege to defectors and their NGO helpers that they don’t want to get in the middle to Korean peninsula politics. Even with all those ROK tourists and ROK company investment in Land of Smile, new Thai Govt is taking a bold move to do this.

Also, why don’t ROK Embassy set up a Satellite office in ChangRai to help Thai Immigration officers to process the defectors. ROK Embassy has a Satellite office in Phuket for ROK tourists already.

By: Korea » Blog Archive » N Korea talks mull China plan

Korea » Blog Archive » N Korea talks mull China plan — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:12:04 +0000

[...] Just caught this story on naver - It seems about 52 defectors have been aprehended by Thai authorities and if convicted of entering the country illegally are expected to be sent back to North Korea. [Joongang Ilbo, Korean link] … – more – [...]

By: tocchin

tocchin — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 07:45:29 +0000

Althoug noboby knows when, the reunification will come sooner or later. South Korea had better accept every NK refugee whenever they come until nobody lives in NK except Kim’s family. Gradual accommodations of the defectors would
cost less no matter how long it would take. Stop giving away
money to NK. Instead SK should save the money for the coming reunification.