Release International

A group of North Korean refugees arrested in Laos have been handed over to South Korean embassy staff, after two weeks of intense negotiating.

The 10 defectors, together with two Christian aidworkers from South Korea, had been trying to escape to Thailand when they were seized in Laos' Luang Namtha province. There were fears they might be repatriated to North Korea, as 7x7 reported on June 20. Human rights groups appealed to the United Nations, as well as the US and South Korean governments. When these negotiations failed, the Seoul-based charity Helping Hands Korea paid a ransom of US$500 a head for eight of the refugees; another activist ransomed the remaining two, according to Compass Direct.

That was not the end of the story, though. Lao officials gave each refugee a certificate and the order to report to the South Korean embassy in the capital Vientiane within seven days. But, on June 3, the 10 refugees -- eight women and two men -- were rearrested in Luang Prabang province and held in Pang Mong town: local police argued they should be handed over to the North Korean embassy.

Finally, after further negotiations, the Lao government allowed South Korean embassy staff to collect the refugees in Pang Mong on June 10.

• Pray that the North Korean refugees and South Koreans aidworkers arrested in Laos will now be transported to a 'safe' country. Thank God for their release.
• Praise God for the courage of people like the South Korean aidworkers who risk their lives to help people escape North Korea's repressive regime where Christians are brutally persecuted.

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