Reporters on the Job

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"South Korea doesn't want to talk about it because it's a sore point with North Korea. Thailand doesn't want to play it up because the North Koreans are entering the country illegally," says correspondent Simon Montlake. So Simon found none of the official sources or activists wanted to talk to him about it. But he found a South Korean journalist living in Thailand, who had covered the railroad for years and was willing to lend a hand.

"One evening, we drove around Bangkok looking for a refugee safe house. He told me he could spot them by the telltale signs: no car, no decorations, no garden, and lots of shoes outside," says Simon. But even after cruising the streets and talking to some local restaurant owners, they were coming up empty-handed.

"Finally, we went to a Thai prison and persuaded the guards to let us in. My South Korean colleague had gotten the names of a couple of North Korean refugees from a missionary activist. The guards let us in, and announced the names over the prison loudspeakers. Nothing. Unfortunately, the guards had mangled the Korean names. So, my colleague gently suggested that he try.

"A few minutes later, we were in the yard talking to a pair of North Korean refugees. That's how we got the story," says Simon.

David Clark Scott
World editor

		CATERING TO ALL PATIENTS IN ENGLAND: As of Nov. 1, two hospitals in Lancashire will make available to their patients a new burka-style hospital gown for Muslim women who request it. LANCASHIRE TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST/AP More cultural snapshots

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