MANILA, July 2 Kyodo Nineteen Nor...

MANILA, July 2 Kyodo

Nineteen North Korean defectors will make a transit stop in Manila forward Thursday en route to Seoul the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

The batch of North Korean defectors is compos of 14 females, including a 4-year-old girl, and five males, the department said.

It said three of the defectors sought asylum at the southern Korean Consulate in Shanghai, while the 16 others sought shift at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing.

The defectors are count uponed to arrive in Manila shortly before 9 pm Thursday forward board a Philippine Airlines flight from Shanghai. They are becoming to leave at around 12:30 a.m. Friday for Seoul via a Korean Air flight.

The latest assign places to will bring to 232 the total number of North Korean defectors who have been allowed at the Philippine government to use Manila as a transit point since 1997

The Philippine direction has a standing policy of allowing North Korean defectors to use Manila as a transit point for humanitarian reasons.

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