Sixteen North Korean men accused of working illegally in Cambodia, were detained and set to be deported by authorities, a police official said on Saturday, January 04.
Tith Narong, chief of the Siem Reap provincial police, told Kyodo News that the North Koreans, who were detained on Friday afternoon, must leave Cambodia within seven days after they were fined US$100 each for “working without a work permit.”
He said the men arrived in Cambodia about three months ago, entering the Southeast Asian nation on tourist visas.
Following an investigation, Narong said it was determined the men had not caused any disruption in the community nor endeavoured to cheat anyone, but they had breached the conditions of their tourist visas.
They have been ordered to depart “within one week starting from today,” Narong said.
According to a report compiled last year by a panel of experts on the North Korea Sanctions Committee of the U.N. Security Council, North Korea is sending information technology professionals to work in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere as a means to generate hard currency for the country.
Cambodia last month closed all six North Korean restaurants that were operating in the country to comply with the U.N. resolution requiring member states to repatriate North Koreans earning money overseas. (Source: Mainichi Japan)