NKoreans in Hanoi ask Danes to send them to South

HANOI, July 12 (Reuters) Four North Koreans who climbed a fence into the Danish Embassy in Hanoi want to go to South Korea and will be handed over to the United Nations refugee agency, a Danish diplomat said today.

The three women and one man came to Vietnam from China and will be allowed to remain at the embassy after entering the grounds yesterday, said Lars Thuesen, head of consular affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen.

''They told us they want to go to South Korea, which is no surprise and we are in touch with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,'' he said.

Thuesen said he expected that the transfer to the UN agency could take about two weeks. He said the four people were not members of the same family and that they climbed over a fence at the embassy in the centre of the Vietnamese capital.

A number of North Koreans have taken refuge in European and Asian embassies in Hanoi in recent years to seek permanent asylum in South Korea.

Vietnam tries to maintain cordial relations with both Koreas.

South Korea is an important investor and Vietnam sends food aid to North Korea.

The Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said his government had received information about the four North Koreans from the embassy of Denmark.

''We are contacting the parties concerned to verify this information and deal with this matter in accordance with Vietnam's laws and international practicesin a spirit of humanity and in line with the practical situation,'' spokesman Le Dung said at a regular ministry briefing.

In June 2005, seven North Koreans sought refuge at the Thai embassy in Hanoi for permanent asylum in South Korea.

The last reported attempt by North Koreans seeking asylum in a European embassy in Vietnam was in December 2004 when four entered the French mission and two sought asylum at the Swedish embassy.

Seoul's airlift of 468 North Koreans from Vietnam in 2004 infuriated Pyongyang. Six months later, South Korea announced it would never attempt a large-scale refugee rescue again.

Human rights workers say North Korean refugees often slip into China, then travel overland to Southeast Asia hoping to eventually reach South Korea.

In March, Hanoi hosted diplomatic talks between North Korea and Japan as part of Pyongyang's agreement with five other countries to shut down its nuclear programme.

Reuters NY GC1658