Diplomatic row erupts in Bangkok

Diplomatic row erupts in Bangkok

BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand has threatened to revoke the
diplomatic immunity of seven North Korean Embassy staff members
facing possible arrest over a bungled kidnapping of a runaway
diplomat, officials said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan also ordered North Korean
agents here to immediately release the North Korean diplomat's
son and again warned the scandal was severely damaging bilateral
ties.

The scandal surfaced last month when North Korean Embassy
counselor Hong Sun-kyong, 61, disappeared amid accusations he had
stolen money intended to buy Thai rice for the famished Stalinist
state.

A huge manhunt failed to find the man, his wife Pyo Yong Hui
and 20-year-old son Hong Won Myong, but a mysterious car accident
last week uncovered a suspected North Korean plot to kidnap the
family.