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Wolfowitz: We Must Help North Korea's Refugees

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 16, 2009 8:09 AM CDT
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(Newser) – When President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meet today, they will discuss a host of security and economic issues, but Paul Wolfowitz hopes they take some time out for a purely humanitarian concern: North Korea’s refugees. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China, but “China makes life extraordinarily difficult for refugees,” he writes in the Wall Street Journal.

What’s needed is an international settlement effort, like the Indochinese refugee rescue of the 1970s. At present South Korea settles roughly 2,000 North Koreans a year, but the US has welcomed a paltry 81 since 2000. China is reluctant to help, because it fears angering Pyongyang. But if the US and South Korea proceed quietly, enlist other countries, and remind China that it signed the UN refugee protocol, Wolfowitz says we can help these people.

North Korean asylum seekers sit inside the Detention Center at the Immigration Headquarters in Bangkok in this Aug. 24, 2006 file photo.
North Korean asylum seekers sit inside the Detention Center at the Immigration Headquarters in Bangkok in this Aug. 24, 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, FILE)
North Korean defectors and South Korean activists shout slogans during a rally for North Korean refugees who were repatriated by the Chinese government, in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.
North Korean defectors and South Korean activists shout slogans during a rally for North Korean refugees who were repatriated by the Chinese government, in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.   (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
North Korean refugees bow with respect of their relatives left behind North Korea while celebrating the Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving memorial day, in South Korea, Sept. 14, 2008.
North Korean refugees bow with respect of their relatives left behind North Korea while celebrating the Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving memorial day, in South Korea, Sept. 14, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
North Korean defectors shout slogans during a rally for North Korean refugees who were repatriated by the Chinese government, in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Feb. 4, 2009.
North Korean defectors shout slogans during a rally for North Korean refugees who were repatriated by the Chinese government, in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Feb. 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
North Korean asylum seekers are brought in a vehicle from a detention center at the immigration headquarters to a court in Bangkok in this Aug. 24, 2006 file photo.
North Korean asylum seekers are brought in a vehicle from a detention center at the immigration headquarters to a court in Bangkok in this Aug. 24, 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, FILE)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Fondue
Jun 17, 2009 3:27 AM CDT
Fine, I'll pat him on the back for his efforts. However, there still remain over 4 million internally and externally displaced Iraqi's. And, giving credit where credit is due, Paul helped make that possible.
Alexandria
Jun 16, 2009 4:46 AM CDT
Even if you don't like or agree with Wolfowitz, North Korea's refugees do need help. It's just really sad how no one seems to be helping them out.
JonmarkP
Jun 16, 2009 3:22 AM CDT
How is anything Wolfowitz has to say newsworthy? He's like Brittney Spears, but without the brains and talent.

Inside North Korea's gulag
Wall Street Journal

Sanctions may never work on North Korea
New York Times

 
China • Barack Obama • North Korea • South Korea • United States • refugee • UN High Commissioner for Refugees • Lee Myung-bak

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