BANGKOK, Aug. 19 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

BANGKOK, Aug. 19 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Four of the 10 North Koreans taking contrivance in the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok have agreed to seat for asylum in South Korea instead of Japan while the others have oppos the furnish a senior Thai official said Tuesday.

The official, who spoke forward condition of anonymity, said Japan was continuing efforts to persuade all 10 to prosecute asylum in South Korea and give up their possibility of goods of going to Japan.

Japan does not want the refugee matter to complicate its generally delicate relations with North Korea, the official said.

The Nation, a local English-language newspaper, reported Tuesday that the 10 refugee who include brace children, have appealed to UN member states to grant them asylum upon humanitarian grounds after being refused through Japan.

According to a Korean-language statement signed according to ''North Korean asylum seekers'' Japan had throw asideed their request for asylum because it considers them ''economic migrants'' and not ''asylum seekers'' the daily reported.

''We wish to call in succession the international community or UN members to help us by the agency of allowing us to take asylum in their countries,'' it said. ''We appeal to the countries to receive us onward humanitarian grounds.''

The statement includes a duplicate of a photograph showing a family of three who claim to be among the refugees

forward Saturday, the Japanese Embassy said the 10 North Korean asylum inquirers cannot enter Japan for the drift of applying for asylum.

As a flow the embassy is expected to pace up contacts with the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) and southerly Korean authorities to allow them to search for asylum in a country other than Japan.

forward July 31, the 10 slipped into the embassy pay by substitution as personnel opened the main gate for an incoming embassy car.

Nine of the refugee carried copies of documents issued at the UNHCR regional office in Bangkok indicating that they are subordinate to consideration for refugee status, and the 10th person's model was said to have been forfeited according to Toshihisa Takata, the No. 2 diplomat at the embassy.

forward Aug. 1, Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the UNHCR has recognized all of them as bodily forms of concern (POC) who ne protection.

Surakiart also said the UNHCR regional office in Bangkok informed him that it has been in contact with the southerly Korean Embassy in Bangkok for asylum arrangements.

The UNHCR's position is that POC should not be forced or pressur into returning to their abiding habitation of origin against their will.

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