Reuters AlertNet Lite - Japan sees thousands of refugees in N.Korea crisis

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Japan sees thousands of refugees in N.Korea crisis

05 Jan 2007 02:33:51 GMT
Source: Reuters

TOKYO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 North Korean refugees are likely to flee to Japan if a crisis hits the Korean Peninsula, well beyond Japan's capacity to deal with such an influx, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday.

The Asahi Shimbun said the government has estimated that 100,000 to 150,000 people would arrive from North Korea and has been discussing with the United States how to deal with such a situation.

Japan could only provide temporary shelter for several tens of thousands of displaced persons and would need to consider transferring them to third countries in such a case, the Asahi quoted government sources as saying.

The refugees are expected to head to southern Japan from ports on North Korea's east coast. The government estimate was based on the number of ships and boats North Korea is believed to have.

Japan and the United States started discussions last month on how to deal with a North Korean crisis following Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests last year, the paper said.

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Last updated:Fri Jan 5 02:35:18 2007