Sources say eighteen North Koreans who have been staying in Thailand after fleeing their country will fly to South Korea later Thursday.

According to officials at the Korean embassy in Thailand and those at nongovernmental organizations, 16 of them, among one-hundred-75 of their countrymen arrested by Thai immigration authorities, hold travel certificates issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Two others were aiming to leave Thailand after being detained by the Thai immigration authorties.

The 16 North Koreans with travel permits are staying at a refugee center operated by a nongovernmental organization after being released earlier Thursday.

The officials say all 18 are to arrive at Incheon International Airport, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, on an Asiana Airlines flight scheduled to leave Bangkok at 10:30 p.m.

Earlier in the day, a Thai court imposed a fine of six-thousand baht, or about one-hundred-60 U.S. dollars, on each of the remaining North Korean escapees, who were arrested Tuesday for illegally entering the country.