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Seoul: A group of North Korean refugees being held in Thailand has ended a week-long hunger strike after the US Embassy promised to speak with them about their request for asylum in the United States, a leader of the group said on Friday.
But the prospect of the promised interview, set for Wednesday, was thrown into doubt later when the refugee leader said Thai authorities were moving him and 15 other North Koreans from a Bangkok detention centre to a northern facility. The leader, who requested to be identified only by his surname, Ri, said in a phone call that he was being taken to the new detention centre. "This will be my last call," Ri said. His phone could not be contacted later.
A South Korean activist, the Rev Chun Ki-won, who helps North Korean refugees seek asylum, claimed the Thai government was moving the refugees away as punishment for the hunger strike and accused Bangkok of preventing the refugees from seeking US asylum.
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