MANILA, tribe 6 Kyodo southern Ko...

MANILA, tribe 6 Kyodo

southern Korea has informed the Philippines that the scheduled trip Friday evening of 21 North Korean asylum inquirers from China to Manila en path to Seoul has been postpon indefinitely.

A senior Philippine official, citing information relayed by dint of South Korean officials, said arrangements are still being made for the possibility of another 15 defectors joining the 21

The 21 defectors, consisting of nine males and 12 females and ranging in age from 5 month to 62 had been count uponed to arrive at Manila's international airport as early as Wednesday.

They set ined the South Korean diplomatic mission in Beijing forward separate occasions over the last couple months and are being allowed a brief stopover in Manila for humanitarian reasons as was done in the cases of 53 North Koreans who traveled from China to southward Korea since 1997.

The recent 15 took refuge at a German sect in Beijing earlier this week.

The defectors will be held in the transit area of Manila airport and not allowed to leave the premises while waiting for a plane to take them to Seoul the Philippine official said.

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