North Korea Wants Refugees Back. Tries Being Nice For Once

SAMAS · Post by **SAMAS** » 2004-08-20 04:18pm

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea (news - web sites) appealed to refugees who have sought asylum in the South to return to the impoverished state, avoiding for once labeling them "human scum" and saying a warm home awaits them.

North Korea's Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland said in an open letter, broadcast twice this week on Radio Pyongyang, that refugees were "brothers and sisters who were dragged to the South."

"You may come back as a group or individually to the republic you love and to the warm home that you miss," the letter said.

"We in no way see you as having committed a crime to the fatherland or to the nation," the letter said, adding that returning refugees would not be punished.

More than 460 North Korean refugees were airlifted to the South last month from Vietnam in a secret South Korean operation that enraged the North's rulers.

Pyongyang called the operation "premeditated abduction and terrorism" orchestrated by the South.

A South Korean Unification Ministry official said on Friday the open letter to the refugees was notable for its softer tone.

But he said it should not be seen as a sign of a fundamental shift in the North's normally hard-line position on fleeing refugees, whom it usually regards as traitors.

The North renewed its attacks on the South Korean government in the open letter, saying: "We cannot hold our hatred and curses toward the abductors."

More than 100,000 North Korean refugees -- possibly twice that number -- are camped out or in hiding, mostly in China and increasingly in Southeast Asia after fleeing poverty and repression in the North, activists say.

Top South Korean officials angered human rights activists this week by saying the work of non-governmental organizations can hamper efforts to secure the refugees' freedom.

Grand Admiral Thrawn · Post by **Grand Admiral Thrawn** » 2004-08-20 04:21pm

"We'll even have some nice tree bark for you!"

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2004-08-20 04:24pm

Why do I have a feeling that we'll see some...disappearances...after they come back?

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-08-20 04:29pm

Xenophobe3691 wrote:Why do I have a feeling that we'll see some...disappearances...after they come back?

If they're dumb enough to fall for it. If they ran in the first place, do you really think they'll forget why they ran?

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2004-08-20 07:39pm

Maybe the refugees that actually ARE stupid enough to go back will actually get special priveleges so that NK can have a lovely propaganda piece.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-08-20 08:26pm

You'll forgive me if I don't see much appeal in returning to a country that has officially dubbed me "human scum" for decades. What the refugees do is their own business, but I wouldn't be too thrilled at my prospects in the north.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2004-08-21 12:35pm

North Korea needs them to return so they can start marketing their new line of Soylent Green products to the rest of the nation.

Certainly those people who've spent some time outside of North Korea would have more nutritional value.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2004-08-21 03:03pm

Face it, the refugees are not going back. But, if the DPRK feels the need to replace those warm bodies, I'm sure there are plenty of commies at Berkley who could be more effectively recruited.

CJvR · Post by **CJvR** » 2004-08-21 03:29pm

"You may come back as a group or individually to the republic you love and to the warm home that you miss," the letter said.
LOL! the only way a North Korean would get a warm home would be if the goverment set his house on fire.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-08-21 03:42pm

Guardsman Bass wrote:Maybe the refugees that actually ARE stupid enough to go back will actually get special priveleges so that NK can have a lovely propaganda piece.

They probably would get special treatment for about a month, then its off to be worked to death digging a tunnel for the goverment to hoard western aid shipments in.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2004-08-21 06:02pm

Feh, like HELL they're going back after staying a bit in the South!!

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2004-08-21 08:10pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Guardsman Bass wrote:Maybe the refugees that actually ARE stupid enough to go back will actually get special priveleges so that NK can have a lovely propaganda piece.
They probably would get special treatment for about a month, then its off to be worked to death digging a tunnel for the goverment to hoard western aid shipments in.

What would be considered special treatment in North Korea? The government providing human meat for you so you don't have to get it yourself?