Reuters news reported, from Yangon, Burma; Nineteen North Korean refugees, detained at a Myanmar border town early this month, were expected to be tried for illegal entry soon. They were arrested in Tachilek, a town on the Myanmar-Thai border about 600 kms (375 miles) northeast of Yangon, on December 2.

Hundreds of North Koreans flee the hermit state every year, usually crossing into China and then on to a third country on their way to eventual asylum in South Korea, human rights groups say.

“North Koreans who had fled their country for economic reasons in the past were allowed to go to South Korea after serving jail terms here. But that was before Myanmar and North Korea restored ties,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

The detainees facing trial in Myanmar (also known as Burma), a country with very notorious judicial system, include children and elderly women, according to a report by Associted Press news.