North Korean defectors leave Vietnam, heading for Seoul

Four North Koreans, who fled to Vietnam in a bid to get asylum in South Korea, have left the Danish Embassy and headed for Seoul,

Thousands of North Koreans have fled their communist homeland to escape hunger and harsh political oppression, many taking a long and risky land journey through China to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries on their way to asylum in South Korea.
Since the Korean War ended in 1953, more than 10,000 North Koreans have defected to the South, with most arriving in recent years.

South Korea has said it would accept any North Korean who wants to resettle in the South, but is concerned that the rapid increase in arrivals could strain inter-Korean ties and complicate international efforts to resolve the issue of the North's nuclear program.

[IHT]