2 N. Korean defectors arrive in Seoul via Singapore

Asian Political News, May 20, 2002

SEOUL, May 17 Kyodo

Two North Korean defectors, who sought asylum in the Canadian Embassy in Beijing last Saturday, arrived in South Korea via Singapore on Friday.

The defectors, a married couple in their 20s, told reporters upon their arrival at Incheon Internatinal Airport around 5:25 a.m. that they are very glad to land in South Korea.

They will be sent to a government facility for North Korean defectors to receive medical checkups and orientation aimed at helping them get accustomed to life in the South.

On Tuesday, three North Koreans who sought asylum last week at the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China, arrived in South Korea via Singapore.

The fate of five North Koreans, who on May 8 entered Japan's consulate in Shenyang but were removed by the Chinese police, remains undecided.