U.S. allots quota that applies to North Korean Refugees

The U.S. has set a quota of refugees at 80,000 for 2009, 19,000 of them from East Asia, including North Korea, China, Tibet, and Burma. It is to give priority to 100 refugees from the region who want to join their families who are already in the U.S.

How many North Korean refugees will be accepted is not specified, but they are to come under the Priority-1 Group, where each refugee will be screened individually, and Priority-3 Group, where refugees will be given priority in joining their families who are already in the U.S. Some 600 refugees will be let in under Category P-1 and 100 under Category P-3.

The report expresses grave concern about human rights of North Koreans both in the Stalinist country and in nearby countries like China.

Since the U.S. first accepted a North Korean refugee under the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, a total of 75 North Korean refugees have settled in the U.S.

[Chosun Ilbo]