Has a U.S. Embassy Accepted NK Defectors?

[Update: link fixed, thanks!] Via the Chosun Ilbo:

Some five or six North Korean defectors are reportedly preparing to enter the U.S. under the protection of its embassy in a Southeast Asian country as Washington prepares to make good on a pledge to grant asylum to more refugees from the Stalinist country.

Sources in the U.S. government and Congress said Thursday as soon as procedural matters with the Asian country are resolved, the North Koreans will make their way to the U.S. Another official said the defectors are staying at a safe house in the U.S. legation in a Southeast Asian country but did not specify the country or the defectors’ identities for reasons of their safety.

I gave the State Department no credit for this result, but if our embassies are “facilitating the submission” of asylum applications, it appears that State’s resistance is cracking. That would be excellent news.