A high ranking official in Cambodia told reporters Tuesday that an un-identified North Korean man was arrested in Mondolkiri province on immigration violations and was then deported to Vietnam.
Now, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is asking the Cambodian government to provide information on the whereabouts of the North Korean deportee.
Chhuong Ravuth, UNHCR protection officer tells VOA that the UN agency has yet to receive any clarifications on the case from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We are currently monitoring this case because we have not known anything about this before. We only learn about it through the newspaper, so we do not know what to do besides just to ask the government to clarify," Ravuth said in an interview.
The arrest happened just a few days before state official visit by South Korean president Roh Mooh-hyun in Cambodia to sign a bilateral trade agreement with the country.
However, a human rights official suspects that the foreigner is still being detained in Cambodia.
Click on the above links to listen to the full story reported by VOA’s Sok Khemara.