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Quotes of the Day:
I make no apologies to Leon Trotsky: "America may not be interested in irregular, unconventional, and political warfare but irregular, unconventional, and political warfare are being practiced around the world by those who are interested in them – namely the revisionist, rogue, and revolutionary powers and violent extremist organizations who want to create dilemmas for the United States and the free world. and attack the rules based international order."
• Revolution is an attempt to modify the existing political system at least partially through unconstitutional or illegal use of force or protest.
– (Page xvi) https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/books/pdf/CasebookV2S.pdf
• Insurgency (or revolutionary warfare), then, is used to describe the means by which a revolution is attempted or achieved.
– (Page xvi) https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/books/pdf/CasebookV2S.pdf
• Resistance is a form of conflict involving the collective and subversive efforts of participants against an authority or structure. Broad in conceptual scope, but also limited in reach, resistance can be carried out through either violent or nonviolent means (or both) on either an international or an intranational scale.
– (Page 7) https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/books/pdf/typology-resistance.pdf
Assessing Revolutionary and Insurgent Strategies
https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/aris.html
1. Ex-Marine who raided DPRK Embassy makes case against extradition to US public
2. A Marine veteran says he tried to help North Koreans in Spain defect. Now he faces the threat of assassination
3. Exclusive: US expert says N. Korea’s rocket factory is Pyeonghwa Motors, visited by ex-S. Korea President Roh
4. Exclusive: South Korean and U.S. special forces commanders set for first meeting in late May
5. Rifle in hand, Kim Jong Un calls for more powerful North Korean weapons
6. Young North Korean recruits tell parents they are fed meager rations
7. Unification minister reiterates need for new unification blueprint
8. S. Korea to stage drills against large-scale aerial attack
9. New Japanese ambassador to S. Korea to take up post this week: sources
10. S. Korea, China agree to work for successful trilateral summit with Japan: Seoul ministry
11. Passenger rail service linking Russia to N. Korea set to resume: official
12. N. Korean municipal delegation heads for Russia's Far East
13. N. Korean science, technology delegation leaves for Russia
14. As relations between China and N. Korea improve, defectors in China worry about repatriations
15. Growing number of defectors in China shelve plans to head to S. Korea
1. Ex-Marine who raided DPRK Embassy makes case against extradition to US public
Civil society organization taking action to try to help Koreans from the north. But I think you have to question their intelligence and their plan. Fake guns? But easy for us to second guess and play armchair quarterback. I would like to get a real detailed debriefing of what took place. Was this a good faith attempt to try to do something potentially good? Or was this the three stooges at work?
There is no doubt in my mind that if he is extradited he will be at high risk of being assassinated.
NEWS
Ex-Marine who raided DPRK Embassy makes case against extradition to US public
In interview, Christopher Ahn insists he aimed to help staff at Madrid embassy defect and could be killed if extradited
Joe Smith May 13, 2024
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Christopher Ahn, who raided the North Korean embassy in Madrid as part of the Cheollima Civil Defense activist group | Image: 60 Minutes via X (May 13, 2024)
A former U.S. Marine who took part in a raid on the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in 2019 has spoken out about the incident in a rare interview with mainstream media, making the case to the American public that he could be assassinated if extradited to Spain to face changes.
In the interview with CBS for the news program “60 Minutes,” Christopher Ahn recounted details about the raid, maintaining that it was a “staged” kidnapping to help embassy staff defect, and about a separate operation to rescue Kim Jong Un’s half-nephew.
Spanish authorities have accused Ahn and several other members of the Cheollima Civil Defense, now known as Free Joseon, of breaking into the North Korean Embassy in Spain on Feb. 22, 2019, stealing electronic equipment and assaulting staff.
Cheollima Civil Defense took responsibility for the break-in but denied allegations of violence, while North Korea called the raid a “grave terrorist attack” against its diplomats.
Ahn has maintained that the group only attempted to “stage a kidnapping” at the Madrid embassy after its North Korean staff asked for help defecting. He told “60 Minutes” that he did not carry a weapon but that other participants carried “fake guns,” tying up the staff before telling them that they had come to help them defect.
The embassy staff reacted with “disbelief” and “excitement,” he said. “Someone said, ‘Is this really happening?’ And that, to me, confirmed what I was told earlier that day, that everyone inside wanted to defect.”
Ahn’s statements to “60 Minutes” largely echo the account he gave to a U.S. court in 2021, when he claimed that Cheollima Civil Defense “staged” the defection attempt as a kidnapping in order to protect the defectors from North Korean government retaliation.
The activist group ultimately abandoned the operation when one would-be defector changed his mind after Spanish police showed up at the embassy, he said in his testimony to the court.
Ahn was arrested in the U.S. in April 2019 and was released on bail three months later. He told “60 Minutes” that he expected to be granted bail immediately because he didn’t “have a criminal record” and didn’t think he had even received a parking ticket in the last 15 years.
During Sunday’s interview, Ahn initially claimed that he wasn’t aware of the second Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi that took place only five days after the embassy raid. But he later admitted, “Maybe I did, but none of what I am doing is, is motivated by anything political.”
While Adrian Hong, the leader of Cheollima Civil Defense, has described himself as a “freedom fighter,” Ahn said he does not view himself in that way and that his motivation was “simply to bring some hope to people who were hopeless.”
The ex-Marine declined to specify how many North Koreans he has helped to defect but said it was “more than one or two” and “less than dozens.”
He specifically detailed his involvement in a well-known operation by Cheollima Civil Defense to rescue Kim Han Sol, the son of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, following his father’s assassination at Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017.
“I told Adrian that, ‘Tell him to look for a guy with a black t-shirt, uh, a Dodger hat, and I’ll be going by the name of Steve,’” Ahn said in the interview. “And I saw someone walking toward me. We locked eyes and he asked me, ‘Are, are you, Steve?’ And I said, ‘Yes. Don’t worry. I got you.’”
After taking Han Sol to a private location within the airport, Ahn said he then recorded the now-famous video in which the young man thanked Free Joseon for his rescue.
Christopher Ahn entering the North Korean Embassy in Spain, Feb. 22, 2019 | Image: Department of Justice, edited by NK News
Sunday’s CBS show also included interviews with Ahn’s attorney, Naeun Rim, and Sung-Yoon Lee, a professor at Tufts University and a fellow at the Wilson Center. Both repeatedly claimed Ahn would be the target of North Korean assassins were he extradited to Spain.
In 2022, a U.S. judge ruled that Ahn was eligible for extradition to face trial in Madrid but unusually called for a higher court to overrule her decision, concluding that North Korea could “more easily murder him” in Spain.
That same year, Ahn appealed to have his extradition halted, and by 2023, a federal judge indicated that the ongoing hostilities between Washington and Pyongyang would make his extradition unlikely.
The DPRK Embassy in Madrid released a statement in 2023 condemning the U.S. for not already extraditing Ahn, calling him a “felon who deserves severe punishment.”
Some experts previously expressed skepticism about the idea that Ahn’s life would be at risk if he were to be extradited to Spain, noting North Korea’s small presence in Europe and the difficulty of carrying out an assassination on a man in Spanish custody.
Bianca Trifoi, a Ph.D. candidate in North Korean history at George Washington University, told NK News on Monday that Ahn likely agreed to the interview with “60 Minutes” in an attempt to “gain sympathy from the American public” as he faces the real possibility of extradition.
2. A Marine veteran says he tried to help North Koreans in Spain defect. Now he faces the threat of assassination
You can see the video and read the transcript at this link (and read the transcript below)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marine-veteran-says-he-tried-to-help-north-koreans-in-spain-defect-60-minutes-transcript/
A Marine veteran says he tried to help North Koreans in Spain defect. Now he faces the threat of assassination
CBS News · by Sharyn Alfonsi
'No one could have ever imagined a case like this one.' Those words from a federal judge describe the plight of Christopher Ahn, an American citizen, who has managed to get himself entangled in a web of intrigue involving the United States, Spain and North Korea.
Tonight, you'll hear about fake kidnappings, political assassinations and dramatic rescues…and you'll get a unique insight into North Korea - the world's most isolated country.
There are almost as many questions as there are answers about this strange story…but one thing seems clear: Christopher Ahn is an endangered man
We met Christopher Ahn in Southern California, where the 43-year-old son of Korean immigrants was born and raised. Ahn joined the Marines at 19 and served in Fallujah…when he returned from Iraq, he got his MBA from the University of Virginia and co-founded a consulting business.
But seven years ago, the self described "do gooder" picked up an unusual hobby: helping North Korean diplomats defect.
Christopher Ahn 60 Minutes
Chris Ahn: I don't think that I could morally look at myself in the mirror if I turned away from someone who was desperately asking for help.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How many North Koreans did you help defect?
Chris Ahn: I always try to lean on caution and not really talk about…
Sharyn Alfonsi: But is it a handful, dozens? Give us a sense of what we're talking about. Or was this, you know, one or two and I'm out?
Chris Ahn: Um it's more than one or two. And it's less than dozens.
Ahn says he did it with a secretive, makeshift group of activists who called themselves Cheollima Civil Defense. They claim to have helped high-profile North Koreans defect.
Chris Ahn: There were whispers within the North Korean diplomatic community-- about this strange organization that was out there, doing this.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Was it a loosely-formed group of people?
Chris Ahn: It was.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And how big are we talking about?
Chris Ahn: I don't even actually know the-- the number
Cheollima's grand mission was to overthrow the North Korean dictatorship — one of the most repressive regimes in the world.
The underground group was led by this man…. Adrian Hong - a Korean Mexican who held a U.S. green card. A Yale drop out, Hong became a human rights activist.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Adrian Hong has said he considers himself, "a freedom fighter who's conducting a revolution." Did you view yourself as a freedom fighter?
Chris Ahn: No. No. No. I..I..Obviously, Adrian has um his motivations to doing what he wants to do, but my motivation was just simply to bring some hope to people who were hopeless.
In the fall of 2018, Christopher Ahn was in Italy… when a Cheollima team reportedly arranged for North Korea's acting ambassador and his wife to walk out of their embassy in Rome, jump into a waiting car and speed away to freedom.
Christopher Ahn and Sharyn Alfonsi 60 Minutes
In February of 2019, Christopher Ahn flew to Spain for another secret operation.
Ahn says when he landed, he didn't know the details, but suspected it had something to do with the North Korean embassy in Madrid. He went straight to this safe house…where he learned about the ambitious plan….Cheollima was going to help the entire North Korean embassy……an estimated 10 people…defect.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How was the mission explained to you?
Chris Ahn: What I was told was that everyone in the embassy wanted to defect but were afraid to. And so our main point of contact in the embassy had asked us to stage a kidnapping so that there would be some type of plausible reason that all of a sudden, everyone in the embassy disappeared. Because the penalty for defecting is death, but not just for the defector. It's death for everyone the defector knows, interacts with.
Sharyn Alfonsi: If you can make them look like victims, then their families in North Korea or their friends are not in jeopardy?
Chris Ahn: Correct.
Sharyn Alfonsi: At any point did you think, 'This sounds a little bizarre? Like, this sounds crazy, what we're doing here?' Or did you think, 'It's a good idea?'
Chris Ahn: Of course it sounds crazy, (laugh) you know? But what the North Korean people go through is crazy.
Cheollima's mission in Madrid would be its biggest yet: essentially to take over the North Korean embassy and fake a mass kidnapping. On February 22nd, around 4:30, Cheollima leader Adrian Hong, posing as a businessman, went to the front door.
Chris Ahn: He rings the doorbell. And he's let in. Um and what I was told was that the door would be left open for us. And um the plan was that when we received a signal for us to walk into the embassy, and then begin the staged kidnapping.
Moments later, screen grabs from security cameras show other members of the Cheollima team, including Christopher Ahn, walking through the front door of the North Korean embassy.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Where was their security? Aren't their version of Marines posted outside…
Chris Ahn: No…
Sharyn Alfonsi: There was no security outside the embassy…
Chris Ahn: There was no security. When you traditionally think of an embassy um, you think of like, um, you know, reinforced doors and guards and all these kinds of people. Their embassy is not that kind of an embassy. It's a house with a driveway and, and a door that leads into their little compound.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Are you carrying a weapon? Are members of the group…
Chris Ahn: Oh, no. I was never carrying a weapon. But yes, there were weapons there. Um fake guns. So, you know, and who would bring fake guns into a, into a kidnapping, right?
Fake guns, for what he says was a fake kidnapping. Aware they were likely under surveillance, Ahn says embassy staff members were tied up and herded into a room where he- quietly- addressed them
Chris Ahn: 'We've answered your call, and we're here to, to help you defect.'
Sharyn Alfonsi: And how did they react to that?
Chris Ahn: It was disbelief. It was excitement. Someone said um, 'Is this really happening?' And that to me confirmed what I was told earlier that day, that everyone inside wanted to defect.
North Korean embassy in Madrid 60 Minutes
Sharyn Alfonsi: Describe what you saw when you went inside the embassy. What did it look like?
Chris Ahn: There was almost no furniture. It was bare. The walls were bare, except a few propaganda kinda posters. Um and so the whole place was very echoey. And I opened up the refrigerator and there was nothing in there. And immediately, I thought to myself, 'These are the elites. These are the cream of the crop of North Korea. And they have nothing to eat in there.'
One hour into the operation, Ahn says the Cheollima team was on the verge of leaving the embassy with the North Koreans when everything changed.
Chris Ahn: There's a ring at the door and everyone is very surprised by this. And I see that it's the Spanish police. And I'm–that's shocking. "What are they doing here?" I go back into the room with everybody and they asked me quietly. You know, 'Who is at the door? Why is the doorbell ringing?' So I said, 'The police are at the door.' And then you see the color on everyone's face just turn to lily white. And they would whisper to me very terrified, and say that, 'They know, they know, they know.'
As the police waited for someone to answer, Cheollima leader Adrian Hong put on a North Korean lapel pin to look like a diplomat - then opened the front door. The police informed Hong that a bloodied North Korean woman had frantically told them there was a problem inside the embassy…Hong replied nothing was wrong and shut the door….
Chris Ahn: I believe that was when um we realized that not everyone was accounted for.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Who was missing?
Chris Ahn: It was the wife of one of the members of the uh, of the embassy staff.
The wife had jumped off an embassy balcony in the early minutes of the incursion… despite an injured leg, she dragged herself onto the street where she was discovered by an alarmed Spanish motorist…
Chris Ahn: After the police left the phone all of a sudden started ringing, and ringing. It would ring, ring, ring, ring, wait 'bout five, ten seconds and ring, ring, ring, ring again for hours. And in that echoey house where the phone ringing, it's just echoing everywhere, I don't care how courageous you think you are, that is scary. And so it is totally and completely understandable why they would be afraid.
Sharyn Alfonsi: That they'd been caught?
Chris Ahn: Yes.
No one knew who was calling, but the fear was the North Korean government was now aware something was amiss inside its Madrid embassy…the acting ambassador, So Yun Sok, Cheollima's main point of contact for the alleged mass defection, was inside the embassy and seemed spooked.
Chris Ahn: Adrian said 'The main point of contact believes that this mission has been compromised, and that he's too afraid to go.' And so we need to get outta there. Our main point of contact there gives members of the group keys to the embassy vehicles.
Just after 9 p.m., four and a half hours after it entered the embassy, the Cheollima team fled in the embassy vehicles. They ditched them all over Madrid. No one was caught. Christopher Ahn hailed a cab and went to Portugal, and eventually, back to the United States.
Left behind at the embassy: knives, handcuffs, fake guns…and the shaken staff.
And now….. the North Korean acting ambassador, who supposedly asked for help defecting, told Spanish police the entire embassy staff had been held against their will and beaten.
Sharyn Alfonsi: At any point did you see anyone harm any members of the North Korean embassy…
Chris Ahn: Oh, never. I mean, it's the exact opposite. I was a little concerned that it didn't look real enough, because they were trying so hard to make sure that nobody got hurt.
Christopher Ahn 60 Minutes
Sharyn Alfonsi: The Spanish authorities say it was a kidnapping. What do you say?
Chris Ahn: Well, it means we did our job. We made it look real, and that was the point (laughs). We wanted it– to make it look real as possible, because we had to. We had no other choice.
The Cheollima team took and later posted video of one of its members - not Christopher Ahn - smashing the photos of North Korean leaders inside the embassy…that raised more questions….as did the timing of the raid.
It happened five days before then President Trump met for a second time with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. A meeting some human rights activists feared would "empower" the North Korean regime.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Was the intention of the operation to provoke Kim Jong Un?
Chris Ahn: I didn't even know that that was happening. Again,
Sharyn Alfonsi: Come on. Everybody knew that was happening.
Chris Ahn: I mean, if you are a North Korea watcher or…
Sharyn Alfonsi: You are a North Korea watcher.
Chris Ahn: (laugh) I am not. I am not. I'm just a guy from L.A., you know
Sharyn Alfonsi: It seems like you would be aware of that, that this was in your orbit, that you cared what was going on. You're a smart guy. This, the whole world is talking about these two leaders meeting. You didn't know that was gonna happen?
Chris Ahn: So maybe I did, but, none of what I am doing is, is motivated by anything political or anything um bigger than the fact that I was asked to help these defectors defect.
Back in the U.S., Adrian Hong turned over computers and other digital data Cheollima took from the North Korean embassy to the FBI. Christopher Ahn says he also met with FBI agents at his apartment in LA.
Chris Ahn: We had a really friendly conversation. They asked me about my involvement, what happened. I tried to be as truthful as I could. You know, we ended the meeting with me asking, like, 'Hey, is everything good, you know? Should I be concerned with anything?' And their response was, 'Oh, no, not at all. From our perspective, you were furthering American interests.
Sharyn Alfonsi: So you thought, 'I'm good.'
Chris Ahn: Yeah.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And then what happened?
Chris Ahn: Well (sighs) about two, three weeks after that or so, one of the FBI agents called me and said that North Korea had discovered my identity, and that I needed to be vigilant. And that the only place in this world that I am safe is here in the United States.
Sharyn Alfonsi: The FBI has told you what about the threat?
Chris Ahn: The FBI has told me that my life is in danger. That the North Korean government is now, and will be, targeting me for assassination.
Christopher Ahn maintains when he and a group of human rights activists from Cheollima Civil Defense entered the North Korean embassy in Madrid in 2019, it was all theater…part of a botched "fake kidnapping" to help the North Korean embassy staff who wanted to defect. In the aftermath of the incursion, the FBI warned Ahn and Cheollima's leader Adrian Hong that their lives were in danger.
Two months after the raid in Madrid, Christopher Ahn says he was carrying a gun for protection when he came here, to Adrian Hong's LA apartment, to drop off security cameras…he was stunned to find U.S. Marshals inside.
Chris Ahn: I open the door and I walk in, and the marshals are in there. And I surprised them, they surprised me. You know, they put a gun to my head and said, like, 'Don't move or I'll blow your brains out.'
Ahn says he was handcuffed and taken to jail for his role in the raid of the North Korean embassy in Madrid.
Sharyn Alfonsi: When you're in jail, are you thinking, 'This is a big misunderstanding, and surely I'll be out any day?' Or did you think, 'This doesn't look good?'
Chris Ahn: I thought I'd get bail, right, immediately. I don't have a criminal record. I don't think I even had a parking ticket in the last 15 years.
Christopher Ahn spent 87 days behind bars in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center…
Spain had issued international arrest warrants for him and seven other Cheollima activists, charging them with breaking and entering, illegal restraint and causing injuries…
Sharyn Alfonsi: Spain has said it's a criminal organization. Was it a criminal organization, in your mind?
Chris Ahn: I mean, unless it's a crime to care, and it's a crime to help people?
Sharyn Alfonsi: I get wanting to help people. But why not let you know, the CIA, let the professionals do this?
Chris Ahn: I think it's because all those professionals haven't done this. What is a diplomat supposed to do? Who are they supposed to go to if they want to escape? Are they supposed to go to the embassy of their sworn enemy? They have lived their entire lives knowing that they're being watched 24/7 and we're the only ones in the world that they trust.
U.S. Marshals published a wanted poster for Cheollima leader, Adrian Hong, calling him armed and dangerous. He went underground and remains a fugitive today. Christopher Ahn is now out on bail, but he's been ordered to wear an ankle monitor…. his legal saga is far from over. Spain wants him to stand trial in Madrid. There is an extradition treaty between the United States and Spain. And for Five years, the U. S. Department of Justice has argued that federal courts are obligated to sign off on sending Christopher Ahn to Spain.
Sharyn Alfonsi: This is what the U.S. attorney has said about the case. He said, 'Countries have an obligation to protect diplomats. That's how it works. And for Spain, it is a black eye to have a group come in and commit what they are charging as crimes.' Is that a fair point? Does Spain have a duty to protect foreign embassies on its soil?
Chris Ahn: Of course they do. Spain needs to make sure that other countries and their embassies feel safe. The United States needs to make sure that their allies know that they honor their treaties and their agreements. But North Korea's not a normal country.
\Sung-Yoon Lee 60 Minutes
Sung-Yoon Lee: It's a terrorist state.
Sung-Yoon Lee is a fellow at the Wilson Center- a Washington-based think tank. An expert on North Korea, he testified at Christopher Ahn's federal court hearing that if Ahn is extradited to Spain, he would be vulnerable to North Korean assassins…
Sharyn Alfonsi: You think they will go after Christopher Ahn?
Sung-Yoon Lee: Absolutely
Sharyn Alfonsi: In Spain?
Sung-Yoon Lee: Well, Spain is an advanced country. But North Korea is brazen enough to commit crimes like kidnapping and murder in several European countries. Christopher Ahn is, I'm afraid a very high priority target for the Kim regime. And the reason is because the so-called raid on the North Korean embassy in Madrid was unprecedented. Moreover, Christopher Ahn is the person, we learnt later, who challenged the unchallengeable, infallible, inviolable North Korean leader twice.
Twice. Because, in a crazy twist, to a crazy story, Christopher Ahn had been involved in another rescue that outraged North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un….two years before the Madrid raid.
February 2017…the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia… those are two suspected North Korean agents lurking in the departure hall and that is Kim Jong Nam, the half brother and critic of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un….he enters the hall to catch a flight around 9 a.m.
In this blurry video, Kim Jong Nam is accosted by two women, who smear him in the eyes with V-X nerve agent - a banned chemical weapon…within 30 minutes, he is dead.
Chris Ahn: This assassination occurs. And it's a shock to everyone.
Including the 21-year-old son of Kim Jong Nam who was living in China. Christopher Ahn says Kim Han Sol, who was viewed as a potential heir and threat to the North Korean throne, was terrified.
Chris Ahn: He got a call from North Korea that there were people coming to execute him or assassinate him. And that when he looked out the window, that all of his security disappeared. And he didn't know who to turn to for help.'
He turned to Adrian Hong- the head of Cheollima- for help. Hong then turned to Christopher Ahn, the former Marine, to pull off the rescue.
Chris Ahn: He says, 'Can you fly to Taiwan and meet him there and keep him safe while, you know, we're, talk to different countries and try to figure out a place where he could, you know, apply for asylum?' I jumped on a plane, the last flight out, and uh, and I arrived in Taipei.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How did he know to look for you?
Chris Ahn: I told Adrian that, 'Tell him to look for a guy with a black t-shirt, uh a Dodger hat, and I'll be going by the name of Steve.' And so, when his flight arrived, I was standing by the gate. And I saw someone walking toward me. We locked eyes and he asked me, 'Are, are you Steve?' And I said, 'Yes. Don't worry. I got you.'
Sharyn Alfonsi: At that point, you know people may want to kill him.
Chris Ahn: Sure.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Were you nervous?
Chris Ahn: I think it would be really weird if I wasn't nervous.
Christopher Ahn says he hid Kim Han Sol - the scared nephew of the North Korean dictator - in a private room at the airport for 36 hours until a safe haven could be found for him…
Chris Ahn: These two people show up. And they said that they were from the CIA. They want to talk to Han Sol and…
Sharyn Alfonsi: But they know it's Han Sol that's in there?
Chris Ahn: Correct. So until I got confirmation that they were actually from the CIA, I tried to keep some distance between the two. Soon after, Adrian confirmed that they were from the CIA. And so after that, I felt relieved.
He says Adrian Hong then instructed him to buy a plane ticket for Kim Han Sol to Amsterdam.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You're booking tickets for him at this point?
Chris Ahn: Yeah.
Sharyn Alfonsi: The CIA is not doing that?
Chris Ahn: No. No.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Did that strike you as strange?
Chris Ahn: This whole thing is strange!
Before Kim Han Sol departed, Christopher Ahn asked him if he would record a video…
Chris Ahn: And so I kinda told him, 'Hey, I know this is kinda weird. But um do you mind just kind of just acknowledging that we're here to help you. And he says, 'Okay.' And so in that little hotel room, you know, I pulled out my cracked screen iPhone six and uh took the video.
Kim Han Sol video: We're very grateful to uh Adrian for his help. Um Adrian and Steve for his help and um, we hope uh, we hope this gets better soon. Yeah.
The video was seen around the world…but Kim Han Sol hasn't been seen since. Ahn says a CIA officer escorted Kim Han Sol on to the flight….but he never showed up in the Amsterdam arrivals hall. it's believed he was whisked away to a life in protective custody.
Naeun Rim: When you have been associated with helping-- someone who was once considered potentially the heir apparent of North Korea, just disappear and find safety. Um you're not just a target, you're a top five target.
Naeun Rim 60 Minutes
Naeun Rim is Christopher Ahn's attorney. She says the FBI has also told her Ahn may be killed if he leaves the United States.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Who in the U.S. can stop the extradition to Spain?
Naeun Rim: Antony Blinken can stop it. Ultimately President Joe Biden can stop it. In other administrations, the secretary of state and the president can stop this.
Sharyn Alfonsi: But historically they haven't.
Naeun Rim: There are almost no instances where the State Department has stepped in and stopped an extradition. But there are also no cases where the extradition request is actually being driven by North Korea, a country that the United States does not have diplomatic ties with for a reason.
60 minutes requested interviews with the State Department, the Justice Department and the FBI to discuss Christopher Ahn's potential extradition to Spain. all declined to be interviewed.
We also reached out to Spanish officials…they also declined to speak to us.
But last year while filming outside the North Korean embassy in Madrid….we unexpectedly were confronted by the man who was Cheollima's main point of contact for the alleged fake kidnapping…. So Yun Sok.
We wanted to interview him. He wanted us arrested. Neither side got its wish.
Last year the North Korean government released a statement blasting the United States over the embassy incident…and singled out one person by name: Christopher Ahn…the North Koreans called him "a felon who deserves severe punishment from every aspect…"
Chris Ahn: North Korea has a history. The assassination that they did in Malaysia wasn't their first one. And they had been publicly embarrassed with what happened in Spain. They had been publicly embarrassed with me helping rescue Han Sol. And when they are embarrassed, they respond fiercely. So why wouldn't I believe the FBI when they tell me that North Korea's trying to kill me?
Produced by Draggan Mihailovich and Jacqueline Williams. Associate producer, Emily Cameron. Broadcast associate, Erin DuCharme and Elizabeth Germino. Edited by Matthew Lev.
Sharyn Alfonsi is an award-winning correspondent for 60 Minutes.
CBS News · by Sharyn Alfonsi
3. Exclusive: US expert says N. Korea’s rocket factory is Pyeonghwa Motors, visited by ex-S. Korea President Roh
Dual use? Perhaps not surprising though I haven't seen any other reporting on this (thus the exclusive I guess).
Exclusive: US expert says N. Korea’s rocket factory is Pyeonghwa Motors, visited by ex-S. Korea President Roh
https://www.chosun.com/english/north-korea-en/2024/05/14/YSOXUIAN6RBTJBUHKFF7U45HVQ/
By Yang Ji-ho,
Yeom Hyun-a
Published 2024.05.14. 15:30
An expert from the United States claimed on May 14 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited the Pyeonghwa Motors factory, where he urged North Korean people to “build it a lot more quickly.” This was about producing North Korea’s Multiple Rocket Launcher transporter-erector-launchers (TEL). The Pyeonghwa Motors plant in Nampo, which then-President Roh Moo-hyun visited during his 2007 visit to North Korea, saw him tour the assembly line.
North Korea's Rodong Sinmun reported that on November 11-12, Kim Jong-un conducted inspections at key defense industrial enterprises under the Second Economic Commission. On the same day, he also inspected the production of an updated 240-millimeter howitzer./Rodong Sinmun, News1
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, stated on X (formerly Twitter) that “the defense industry enterprise that Kim Jong-un visited is the Pyeonghwa Motors factory that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun visited in 2007 during the inter-Korean summit.” He provided the coordinates of the munitions factory as “38.76°N, 125.41°E.” However, Lewis did not present specific evidence that this factory was Pyeonghwa Motors.
U.S. expert Jeffrey Lewis claims that the site where North Korea is producing multiple rocket launchers is known as 'Pyeonghwa Motors.' He also posted a photo of then-President Roh Moo-hyun’s visit to the site in 2007./Captured on X
“It is highly likely to be the Pyeonghwa Motors factory because the surrounding facilities resemble those of Pyeonghwa Motors, and North Korea has a history of blending military and civilian production like the production of children’s playground equipment at a special ship-building facility,” a military expert told the Chosunilbo.
Pyeonghwa Motors was established in Nampo, North Korea, as a joint venture between the two Koreas as part of a project initiated by the Unification Church in North Korea. It has been operational since 2002. After the death of Unification Church leader Moon Sun-myung in 2012, the entire stake was reportedly transferred to North Korea. If Lewis’s allegations are accurate, the factory is still being used to produce vehicles for North Korea’s radar guns.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun shakes hands with a worker while touring the assembly line at Pyeonghwa Motors during his 2007 visit./Roh Moo-hyun Foundation
Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun visited Pyeonghwa Motors during his 2007 visit to North Korea for the inter-Korean summit and toured the assembly line. He also took a test drive in a Ssangyong Motor’s Chairman passenger car, known in North Korea as the Zunma.
Lewis also mentioned evidence of Chinese violations of sanctions against North Korea. On March 13, the Korean Central News Agency posted a photo of Kim Jong-un, identified by a distinctive mosaic of red robotic arms, inspecting the production process inside the factory. “They don’t want to reveal that they have imported Chinese robotic arms,” he said, showing a photo of an identical robotic arm from a Chinese company.
Kim Jong Un inspects an important defense industrial enterprise on May 11-12, 2024. The red robotic arm in the foreground is a mosaic./Rodong Sinmun, News1
North Korea is allegedly importing robotic arms from China for use in its munitions factories. UN sanctions prohibit the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of any item, material, equipment, goods, or technology that could contribute to North Korea’s nuclear, conventional, or other WMD-related programs.
The arm in question is believed to be model “BRTIRUS182{10}}A” produced by BORUNTE ROBOT in China. According to the manufacturer’s website, this industrial robot arm can handle a load of up to 20 kilograms.
Jeffrey Lewis has claimed that the 'robotic arm' featured in a mosaic in a photo from a North Korean munitions factory, reported by the Korean Central News Agency on May 13, was made in China./Captured on X
4. Exclusive: South Korean and U.S. special forces commanders set for first meeting in late May
Years ago (back in the day) a meeting like this would never have made the news - not because it would have been kept secret, but because it would not have been of interest to anyone in the media.
But this is the buried lede for all those who follow SOF:
Additionally, there will be discussions about establishing a joint special operations command. Unlike the U.S. military, which operates under a unified Special Operations Command (SOCOM) overseeing all special operations, the Korean military currently lacks such a centralized body. The Army’s Special Warfare Command and the Navy’s Special Warfare Squadron handle peacetime command and training independently, leading to concerns about insufficient coordination among the forces.
Will Korea establish a unified/joint Special operations command? This has long been discussed but never acted upon.
Exclusive: South Korean and U.S. special forces commanders set for first meeting in late May
https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2024/05/14/YECPRUXQKNGQJCKRA7M46KLOXA/
By Yang Ji-ho,
Yeom Hyun-a
Published 2024.05.14. 10:49
ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo visits the 707th Special Task Force of the Republic of Korea Army's Special Warfare Command on April 23 to inspect counterterrorism operational equipment./ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff
The first United States-Republic of Korea Special Operations Commanders’ Conference will bring together commanders from the South Korean Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps special operations forces and their counterparts from the U.S. Special Operations Command Korea. This marks the first time such a meeting has been convened. The primary role of these forces, including the Army Special Forces, is to conduct deep penetration strikes into the enemy’s heartland and target command centers during wartime.
According to several Korean government officials on May 13, the Ministry of National Defense of Korea plans to host this meeting of special operations commanders later this month led by Minister Shin Won-sik.
“It’s highly unusual for the special forces commanders from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to come together, and particularly rare for the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command Korea to participate,” a Ministry of National Defense official said.
The agenda for the meeting is broad, focusing on the planning and operationalization of joint and combined operations among Army Special Forces, Navy UDTs, Air Force CCTs, and U.S. Special Operations Command Korea. The discussions are expected to center on how offensive special operations could act as a deterrent against North Korea. Key topics include enhancements in manpower, equipment, and training innovations aimed at elevating the ROK’s special warfare forces to global standards. The U.S. Special Operations Command Korea is expected to offer valuable insights and advice from their extensive field experience.
Additionally, there will be discussions about establishing a joint special operations command. Unlike the U.S. military, which operates under a unified Special Operations Command (SOCOM) overseeing all special operations, the Korean military currently lacks such a centralized body. The Army’s Special Warfare Command and the Navy’s Special Warfare Squadron handle peacetime command and training independently, leading to concerns about insufficient coordination among the forces.
This initiative aligns with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Defense Minister Shin’s ‘peace through strength’ strategy, which posits that enhancing special warfare capabilities—viewed as threatening by North Korea’s leadership—can effectively deter North Korean provocations.
“The South Korean military, often criticized for its ‘vigilant operation, groundism,’ has seen increasing calls for enhancing offensive capabilities that can intimidate the enemy, rather than merely defending,” said a military official.
Shin Jong-woo, a researcher at the Korea Defence and Security Forum (KODEF), said, “Special warfare forces, like nuclear weapons, represent a form of ‘asymmetric power.’ An integrated operation of these forces by the U.S. would significantly strengthen deterrence against North Korea.” Indeed, the U.S. Special Operations Command Korea’s annual Exercise Teak Knife, aimed at neutralizing enemy leadership, is reputedly one of North Korea’s most dreaded drills.
U.S. Special Operations Command Korea
Ministry of National Defense of Korea
Shin Won-sik
Yoon Suk-yeol
Korea Defence and Security Forum
5. Rifle in hand, Kim Jong Un calls for more powerful North Korean weapons
NEWS
Rifle in hand, Kim Jong Un calls for more powerful North Korean weapons
https://www.nknews.org/2024/05/rifle-in-hand-kim-jong-un-calls-for-more-powerful-north-korean-weapons/?utm
Leader fires sniper rifle, drives mobile rocket launcher in military inspection possibly targeting arms exports
Anton Sokolin May 13, 2024
Kim Jong Un holding a sniper rifle during a factory visit between May 11 and 12, 2024 | Image: Rodong Sinmun (May 13, 2024)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited key military factories producing sniper rifles and a new rocket system over the weekend, according to state media, an inspection that may target arms experts as the DPRK ramps up weapons trade with Russia.
Kim personally tested one of the rifles produced at one of the unnamed small arms factories and took a few shots at a firing range, the party daily Rodong Sinmun reported on Monday.
Kim Jong Un testing sniper rifles during a factory visit on May 11-12, 2024 | Image: Rodong Sinmun (May 13, 2024)
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Kim also drove a vehicle designed to transport one of the DPRK’s new 240mm multiple launch rocket systems (MLRSs) and ordered the factory to expand “scientific and technological capabilities to strengthen the artillery power” of the Korean People’s Army (KPA).
The factory visits took place on May 11-12, the article stated, adding that the DPRK leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong, KPA marshal Pak Jong Chon, director of the party’s munitions industry department Jo Chun Ryong, defense minister Kang Sun Nam and other party and military officials joined the tour.
Kim Jong Un driving an MLRS vehicle during a factory visit on May 11-12, 2024 | Image: Rodong Sinmun (May 13, 2024)
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Yang Uk, a military analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told NK News that the demonstration may have targeted foreign buyers from like-minded countries such as Russia, Iran or Syria, adding that Moscow may also be interested in acquiring North Korean 240mm rockets due to their compatibility with the calibers it uses on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Shin Seung-ki, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, also suggested 240mm rockets would be a boon to Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine, helping it to provide artillery support to frontline units.
“North Korea has been modernizing the 240mm [MLRS] for the past 20-30 years and likely runs large stockpiles [of such ammo],” the expert said, stating that the Russian army could operate the system at a distance of 60-80 km.
The Rodong Sinmun didn’t name the factories Kim Jong Un visited but mentioned that they are part of the Second Economic Commission, which manages weapons production and foreign sales via the internationally sanctioned Korea Mining Development and Trading Corporation.
This raises the possibility that North Korea intends not only to deploy the weapons produced at this factory to its military but also to export them to other countries. The DPRK has sent artillery shells, ballistic missiles and other weaponry to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine in recent years, according to expert analysis.
Kim Jong Un and his entourage on a factory visit on May 11-12, 2024 | Image: Rodong Sinmun (May 13, 2024)
The factory visit came after Kim Jong Un guided a live-fire test of the modernized MLRS on Friday, with state media claiming the “superiority and destructive power” and precision of the system and guided artillery projectiles.
Joost Oliemans, an expert on the DPRK military and author of “The Armed Forces of North Korea,” told NK News on Saturday that the rockets may have been equipped with video or laser guidance to improve precision.
“The North Koreans have in fact for well over a decade been producing such guidance sections even for its smaller 122mm rockets,” according to Oliemans.
He added that the DPRK promotes its 122mm rockets “as more resource efficient by taking fewer rounds to hit a target,” while the 240mm MLRS “is apparently capable of pinpoint precision strikes at a range of over 50 kilometers.”
The most recent MLRS test was at least the third this year and came after Kim Jong Un ordered a “newly established” weapons factory to fulfill military production plans on April 25.
Joon Ha Park contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Arius Derr
Updated at 1:34 p.m. KST with additional details and at 4:12 p.m. with expert comments.
6. Young North Korean recruits tell parents they are fed meager rations
Remember that the loss of "coherency" of the military and loss of military support for the regime combined with the inability of the party to rule from yongyang will likely lead to regime collapse. This is another indicator that there are severe internal problems in north Korea. If and when Kim must "depriotize" regime support for a military unit (e.g., no longer provide food to it), we could see a breakdown in the chain of control as units must then compete for resources.
Young North Korean recruits tell parents they are fed meager rations
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/new-army-recruits-complain-of-not-having-enough-food-north-05132024115812.html
Youth joining the army for mandatory service plead with parents for more food.
By Ahn Chang Gyu for RFA Korean
2024.05.13
Pak Su Dong, manager of the Soksa-Ri cooperative farm in South Hwanghae province September 29, 2011.
Damir Sagolj/Reuters
New recruits in the North Korean army are pleading with their parents through the military base fence, almost begging them to buy them food, because they aren’t getting enough during the weeklong registration, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.
“The spring military draft has reached its final stage. Parents of new recruits are complaining about the poor quality of food in the barracks,” a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
In North Korea, every man must serve seven years in the military, and every woman five.
Every spring and fall, young soldiers-to-be flock to military facilities all over the country.
Serving is a rite of passage, and families come to the barracks to see their children off. At the end of registration, which can last longer than a week after all the medical and fitness tests, the recruits are issued an official Korean People’s Army uniform.
Tearful farewells
Seeing one’s son or daughter in uniform for the first time is often an emotional experience, sources in the country say.
Parents shed tears of joy that their child has reached adulthood, but they are also tears of sadness because they know that life in the military is grueling, and that they won’t see their children for some time.
Whether sad or glad, the parents stay near the barracks to say good-bye to their kids.
“The area near the provincial military mobilization department is crowded with parents of new recruits from all over the region,” the resident said. “I also stayed there for 10 days until I could see my son in uniform.”
She said that the parents wait outside the fence all day, and if their kids have not received their uniform yet, they turn in for the night and return the next morning.
Most recruits will not be assigned to units in their hometowns. In the case of North Hamgyong province, the recruits are usually sent further south to Kangwon or South Hwanghae provinces.
Paltry rations
But parents say their children come to them asking for more food because they are fed such meager rations on base.
“Most children ask their mothers to buy them food through the fence,” the resident said.
“When I asked what they were served at the barracks’ cafeteria, I was told that they get just a single bowl of rice mixed with corn,” she said. “The portions were too small, and the only side dish was salted radish.”
She said the children telling their parents how hungry they were made many mothers cry.
“The parents worry about the hunger their children will experience during their time in the military,” she said. “How nice would it be if the authorities actually fed the children well, after all, the children are preparing to leave their parents and serve.”
This picture from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on April 26, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) paying a visit to Kim Il Sung Military University in Pyongyang to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of North Korea's army. (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP)
In better times the soldiers got a little bit more food.
Prior to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, soldiers received 800 grams (1.7 pounds) of food per day. Now they get only 600 grams (1.3 pounds).
In comparison, a single meal ready-to-eat, or MRE combat ration, for a U.S. soldier weighs between 510 to 740 grams (1.1 to 1.6 pounds) and likely contains far more calories. And they are fed three times a day.
North Koreans rarely eat meat these days, usually only three to five times per year, during the major holidays.
The resident described the North Korean rations as “pathetic.”
Food vendors
There are those who stand to profit from the poor quality of army food though, a resident of the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“Every draft season, food vendors gather around the provincial military mobilization department,” he said, adding that the peddlers sell things like rice mixed with artificial meat or tofu, and sweet snacks. The soldiers are so hungry that it’s big business.
For the rich kids though, it’s a different story, the Ryanggang resident said.
On April 10, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un made a visit to Kim Jong Il University of Military Politics – named after his father and predecessor.
“He brought a generous meal for them that included bulgogi (barbecued meat) and apples,” he said.
Parents who gathered outside of the barracks were angry at the news because the kids of the elite receive what enlisted soldiers can only dream about.
“In this one fact, we can see that while Kim Jong Un says he is for the people, in reality, he values the elites,” the resident said.
The future high-ranking officers do not need special treatment, he said.
“I wish Kim Jong Un would care about enlisted soldiers who have to suffer for a long time after they leave their parents at such a young age.”
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
7. Unification minister reiterates need for new unification blueprint
Miniter Kim is exactly right in this assessment. I would add that Kim has failed to keep his promise that nuclear weapons would bring peace and prosperity to the Korean people in the north.. He has also taken away hope from the Korean people because they believed that unification was the path to better lives for everyone.
It is sad and frustrating that most Americans and many US government officials do not consider unification as important despite the two presidents (April 26, 2023) and the three leaders of the ROK, US, and Japan (August 2023 at Camp David) all say they seek a peaceful, free and unified Korea.
Excerpt:
"As a means to eliminate instability in the regime and boost internal unity, North Korea has chosen the anti-unification, anti-historic and anti-national path of declaring a hostile state relationship, and threatening the Korean people with nuclear and missile weapons," Kim said.
I think most Americans are unaware of this information in the ROK Constitution:
"The more circumstances are tough, the government will consistently push for peaceful unification based on the basic order of free democracy while staying faithful to its constitutional responsibility and historic calling," Kim said.
Article 3 in South Korea's Constitution stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, while Article 4 calls for seeking unification and carrying out a policy of "peaceful unification" based on the "basic free and democratic order."
I would just add that the ROK should add the justification for a free and unified Korea is in the UN Universal Declaration of Human RIghts Article 21. All people have the right to self determination of government.
Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Unification minister reiterates need for new unification blueprint | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea said Tuesday the government's new unification vision under way should factor in changes such as heightened inter-Korean tensions and increased instability in global politics.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the call as he attended a forum organized to assess the National Community Unification Formula, South Korea's unification plan unveiled in 1994 under the administration of late President Kim Young-sam.
The government has been working on updating the nearly 30-year policy after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other," and ruled out unification and reconciliation with South Korea.
"As a means to eliminate instability in the regime and boost internal unity, North Korea has chosen the anti-unification, anti-historic and anti-national path of declaring a hostile state relationship, and threatening the Korean people with nuclear and missile weapons," Kim said.
This photo, provided by the Ministry of Unification on May 14, 2024, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaking at a forum organized to assess the National Community Unification Formula held in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Kim said the new formula should adhere to the basic order of liberal democracy, backed by domestic and international support for a peaceful inter-Korean unification.
"The more circumstances are tough, the government will consistently push for peaceful unification based on the basic order of free democracy while staying faithful to its constitutional responsibility and historic calling," Kim said.
Article 3 in South Korea's Constitution stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, while Article 4 calls for seeking unification and carrying out a policy of "peaceful unification" based on the "basic free and democratic order."
In a speech marking the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, President Yoon Suk Yeol said unification is precisely "what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
8. S. Korea to stage drills against large-scale aerial attack
Maintain vigilance with a high level of readiness.
S. Korea to stage drills against large-scale aerial attack | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 14, 2024
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- The military will stage an air exercise Tuesday aimed at defending against a large-scale aerial attack amid renewed attention to air defense capabilities in the wake of Iran's massive drone and missile attack on Israel.
The drills will be led by the Air Force Operations Command and joined by Army, Navy and Marine Corps units across the country, according to the Air Force.
Some 30 aircraft, including F-35A fighters, as well as various air defense assets, including the Patriot and Cheongung missile defense systems, and the ROKS Sejong the Great destroyer will be deployed to intercept more than 800 simulated targets, it said.
The exercise comes as Iran's April launch of more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel has spawned concerns about a possible aerial attack by North Korea against South Korea.
"We will strengthen the (military's) readiness in responding to all aerial threats ... by analyzing not only the recent trend of the enemy's provocations but also other recent aerial provocations, including a Hamas-style surprise attack and air attacks between Iran and Israel," the Air Force said.
South Korean fighter jets are seen in this undated photo released by the Air Force on May 14, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · May 14, 2024
9. New Japanese ambassador to S. Korea to take up post this week: sources
Tough and important job. He will be under a lot of pressure to continue to improve relations.
New Japanese ambassador to S. Korea to take up post this week: sources | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 14, 2024
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- New Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima is expected to officially take up his post in Seoul this week, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
Mizushima is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Friday and start his position as the top envoy, sources familiar with the matter said.
Mizushima, who previously served as the ambassador to Israel, will replace the outgoing envoy, Koichi Aiboshi.
His expected arrival will come ahead of a trilateral summit among the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China widely expected to take place at the end of this month.
South Korea, the host country, has yet to announce the date for the event. Japanese media reports have said the summit will be held from May 26-27.
Mizushima has served as minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for two years from July 2017 and as the top envoy to Israel from March 2021.
This undated file photo shows Koichi Mizushima, Japan's new ambassador to South Korea. (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 14, 2024
10. S. Korea, China agree to work for successful trilateral summit with Japan: Seoul ministry
What is the success criteria? Probably not the same for each.
(4th LD) S. Korea, China agree to work for successful trilateral summit with Japan: Seoul ministry | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 14, 2024
(ATTN: UPDATES article throughout with details from the outcome of talks; TRIMS)
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL/BEIJING, May 13 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and China agreed Monday to work together for the successful holding of an upcoming trilateral summit also involving Japan widely expected to take place in Seoul later this month.
The two sides reached the agreement during talks between Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing, as Seoul seeks to capitalize on the leaders' gathering to boost three-way cooperation with its Asian neighbors.
"The two ministers agreed to continue cooperation for the successful opening of the ninth South Korea-Japan-China summit that is due to soon take place in South Korea," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a press release after the ministerial talks.
South Korea has yet to announce the exact date for the event, but media reports have said that it will take place from May 26-27.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to developing the bilateral relationship into a "healthy and more mature" one, the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (L) poses for a photo with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ahead of their bilateral talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on May 13, 2024. (Yonhap)
Cho arrived in Beijing earlier in the day, on a two-day trip that marked the first such visit to the Chinese capital by a South Korean foreign minister in more than six years.
Monday's talks came as South Korea seeks to manage its relationship with China that has cooled amid its close alignment with the United States under the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The deterioration in the ties was evident last year when its ambassador to South Korea, Xing Haiming, publicly warned his host country that Seoul would "definitely regret it" if it "bets on China's defeat" in its rivalry with the U.S.
Beijing has also reacted angrily to Yoon's comments about maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, lashing out at Seoul for "meddling in" its own affair.
South Korea has been looking to improve ties with China, its largest trading partner and a key player in nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.
In Monday's talks, Wang expressed hope that the relationship with South Korea will develop further "without interference," apparently cautioning against Seoul keeping in step with the United States in global supply chains and other strategic areas in Washington's rivalry with China.
Wang said that the difficulties facing the bilateral ties are "not in line with the mutual interests of our two countries, and nor are they something that China desires."
"I hope that we join our forces to push for a stable and healthy development of the China-South Korea relationship, as South Korea, together with China, sticks to the direction of mutual goodwill ... and upholds the goal of mutual cooperation and face each other and move forward, while excluding interference," Wang said through an interpreter.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (L) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) hold bilateral talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, in this composite photo taken May 13, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
At the meeting, Cho pointed out that South Korea's relations with China and its relations with the U.S. are not a "zero-sum" relationship, meaning that aligning closely with one country does not mean drifting away from the other.
"We don't perceive foreign relations as a zero-sum relationship, nor do we manage them as such," Cho said.
"I believe it's important that not one side, but both sides, make efforts to carefully manage ties in a way that disagreements will not turn into conflicts for the development of bilateral relations," he said.
Cho called for substantializing the future direction of bilateral relations and building bilateral trust, and hoped that his visit will be the "first step toward untangling the threads" between the two countries and "opening up a new avenue for cooperation."
Cho highlighted the need to bolster high-level exchanges and invited Wang to South Korea, the ministry said. Wang was quoted as responding that he will do so at a "mutually convenient time," as he hopes to revitalize such communication.
Cho also used the talks to raise concern over the growing "unlawful" military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, and asked for China's role as a permanent U.N. Security Council member to promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and for the North's denuclearization.
He also delivered the government's concern over the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China and called for Beijing's attention so that such escapees can seek refuge in a third place.
Wang reiterated that China will play a "constructive role" to help resolve the Korean Peninsula issues, the Seoul foreign ministry said.
The ministers also agreed to reinvigorate exchanges at the municipal level.
Cho also stressed the need for ensuring free access to cultural content as a way to help bring closer the younger generations of the two countries.
The talks were followed by a dinner banquet Wang hosted for Cho and his delegation.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (C) makes opening remarks during bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on May 13, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Earlier in the day, Cho had a meeting with South Korean businesspeople working in China. On Tuesday, Cho will convene a conference of South Korean consuls general in China and discuss municipal-level exchanges.
Cho's trip to Beijing marked the first such visit to the Chinese capital by a South Korean foreign minister since November 2017, when then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha paid a visit during the previous Moon Jae-in government.
The last bilateral talks between the two countries' top diplomats took place in August 2022, between Wang and then Foreign Minister Park Jin, in China's port city of Qingdao in the eastern Shandong Province.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (L) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) hold bilateral talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, in this photo taken May 13, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 14, 2024
11. Passenger rail service linking Russia to N. Korea set to resume: official
Passenger rail service linking Russia to N. Korea set to resume: official | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- The governor of a Russian northeastern region bordering North Korea has said passenger trains connecting Vladivostok to the North are set to resume after years of a COVID-19 pandemic-related suspension.
Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Primorsky Krai, made the remark in a Telegram post he updated Monday after he held a meeting with the chief of a visiting North Korean delegation from the border city of Rason.
The North's state media earlier said the delegation of the Rason Municipal People's Committee, led by Chairman Sin Chang-il, left for Russia on Sunday.
Rason, which borders Russia and China, is a logistics hub designated as a special city by the North. A railway connects the border city to Khasan, Russia, which is then linked to Vladivostok through Russian rail service.
Freight and passenger rail services connecting Rason and Khasan had been suspended since the outbreak of the pandemic, but trains for cargo shipments resumed in November 2022.
Experts voiced concerns that if the passenger rail services reopen, North Korea may start to dispatch its workers to Russia's Far East, which is banned under U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions. Moscow is believed to suffer from a shortage of labor due to its war with Ukraine.
This Sept. 11, 2023, Kyodo photo shows a railway bridge connecting Khasan, Russia, to North Korea's border area. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
12. N. Korean municipal delegation heads for Russia's Far East
N. Korean municipal delegation heads for Russia's Far East | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 13, 2024
SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean delegation from the country's border city of Rason has left for Russia's Far East, state media said Monday, the latest in a series of deepening exchanges between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The delegation, headed by the chief of the Rason Municipal People's Committee, departed the northeastern city on Sunday to visit the far eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai, the Korean Central News Agency said in a one-sentence dispatch.
Rason, which borders Russia and China, is a logistics hub designated as a special city by the North. A railway connects the border city to Khasan in neighboring Russia.
The delegation's visit comes as North Korea and Russia seek to expand cooperation in a range of areas following a rare summit between their leaders in September.
Russian delegations from the Primorsky Krai region earlier visited the North for talks on exchanges in tourism, culture and sports, which led to the resumption of Russian group tours to the North earlier this year.
South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it continues to monitor North Korea-Russia cooperation and stressed their exchanges should abide by U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions.
This March 23, 2024, file photo, taken from the website of the Korean Central News Agency, shows Oleg Kozhemyako (L, front), the governor of Russia's Far Eastern region of Primorsky Krai, leaving Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 13, 2024
13. N. Korean science, technology delegation leaves for Russia
To solicit advanced technology for military use.
N. Korean science, technology delegation leaves for Russia | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean science and technology delegation has departed for Russia, state media said Tuesday, as the two countries are deepening their bilateral ties following the summit of their leaders in September.
The delegation led by Ri Chung-gil, chairman of the State Commission of Science and Technology, left for Moscow on Monday to attend the eighth meeting of a government committee on trade and economy as well as science and technology cooperation between the two nations, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
In a separate release on Telegram, the Russian Embassy in North Korea said Ambassador Alexander Matsegora saw off the delegation -- comprising heads of major research centers, experts and diplomats.
The embassy said the committee is set to adopt a protocol that reflects agreements on bilateral cooperation in areas of science and technology, and basic research.
Matsegora was quoted as saying the protocol could include details on organizing a science fair in Pyongyang in September to mark the first anniversary of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Russia's Vostochny spaceport last year.
This photo, taken from the Telegram account of the Russian Embassy in North Korea, shows Ri Chung-gil (L), chairman of the North's State Commission of Science and Technology, meeting Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora before leaving for Moscow on May 13, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
As part of the visit, Ri will hold a meeting with Valery Falkov, the Russian minister of science and higher education, while delegation members will visit key institutions, including Moscow State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, it added.
The visit is the latest in a series of deepening exchanges between Pyongyang and Moscow in a wide range of areas following the Kim-Putin summit in September.
But cooperation in the field of science and technology with North Korea, with the exception of those for medical purposes, is banned under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2321, which was adopted in 2016 in response to the North's fifth nuclear test.
The KCNA also reported that Premier Kim Tok-hun has sent a congratulatory message to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who has been reappointed following Putin's reelection.
This photo, taken from the Telegram account of the Russian Embassy in North Korea, shows Ri Chung-gil (L), chairman of the North's State Commission of Science and Technology, meeting Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora before leaving for Moscow on May 13, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 14, 2024
14. As relations between China and N. Korea improve, defectors in China worry about repatriations
Excerpts:
In fact, anxious North Korean defectors have dramatically grown in number, with word recently going around that “if relations between North Korea and China improve, we’ll all be repatriated.”
North Korean defectors in China say that if Beijing and Pyongyang grow closer, bilateral cooperation on the defector issue will intensify — and if this is the case, they never know when they will be caught and sent back to the North.
According to the source, one defector said if North Korea-China relations improve, “China will present us to the North as a bribe, and we’ll get sent to a place from which we’ll never leave.”
As relations between China and N. Korea improve, defectors in China worry about repatriations - Daily NK English
"During daytime, I'm afraid to even leave my bathroom for fear that somebody is coming to get me, while at night, I suffer nightmares. It doesn’t feel like living," one defector said
By Lee Chae Un - May 14, 2024
dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Un · May 14, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Officers with China's Ministry of Public Security inspecting a car in Dandong. (Daily NK)
Once strained, the relationship between North Korea and China appears to be on the mend again as the two countries mark the “year of North Korea-China friendship” to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. This situation is leading to fears among North Korean defectors in China, many of whom worry that North Korea and China may improve cooperation on repatriating defectors as the countries grow closer.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in China told Daily NK recently that defectors in China “feel more frightened and insecure than ever about being repatriated because the closer North Korea and China are, the greater the risk that defectors will be repatriated.”
He said defectors in China have felt troubled since reports emerged that Zhao Leji, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the third-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party, discussed plans to strengthen exchanges and cooperation to develop China-North Korea ties when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to North Korea on April 11-13.
Defectors in China who were already feeling uneasy after China forcibly repatriated a large number of North Koreans last October now live in extreme fear following the high-ranking Chinese official’s visit to the North, according to the source.
In fact, anxious North Korean defectors have dramatically grown in number, with word recently going around that “if relations between North Korea and China improve, we’ll all be repatriated.”
North Korean defectors in China say that if Beijing and Pyongyang grow closer, bilateral cooperation on the defector issue will intensify — and if this is the case, they never know when they will be caught and sent back to the North.
According to the source, one defector said if North Korea-China relations improve, “China will present us to the North as a bribe, and we’ll get sent to a place from which we’ll never leave.”
The individual added: “Nowadays, during the day, I’m afraid to even leave my bathroom for fear that somebody is coming to get me, while at night, I suffer nightmares. It doesn’t feel like living.”
“Defectors feel like they’re being driven to the ledge”
In particular, defectors are growing even more frightened as rumors go around that China “will round up and repatriate defectors living in China, regardless of the reason, after it’s done repatriating all those defectors currently in Chinese prisons.”
“Last summer as well, people were nervous for a while as rumors went around that China would repatriate defectors in Chinese prisons, then suddenly arrest and repatriate defectors who committed no crimes and were living quietly,” the source said. “With China continuing to repatriate defectors in prison since last October, defectors’ fears are reaching a fever pitch.”
“We still need to watch and see whether they’re not just rumors and if China is actually taking those steps, but defectors feel like they’re being driven to the ledge,” he said. “In response, defectors say there’s no way to survive other than by going to South Korea, but they can’t do a thing because if you slip up even slightly while trying to go to the South, you can be arrested and repatriated.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Un · May 14, 2024
15. Growing number of defectors in China shelve plans to head to S. Korea
Excerpt:
But the mood among defectors in China has shifted radically following recent reports from South Korea about additional repatriations. As a result, the source said, an increasing number of defectors intend to make a life for themselves in China without going to South Korea.
Growing number of defectors in China shelve plans to head to S. Korea - Daily NK English
“Defectors living in China can’t help feeling ongoing anxiety out of fear that they could be taken away [to North Korea] at any time," a source told Daily NK
By Lee Chae Un - May 14, 2024
dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Un · May 14, 2024
FILE PHOTO: The national flag of the People's Republic of China. (Daily NK)
After hearing about the recent repatriation of North Korean defectors living in China, an increasing number of defectors there are shelving plans to head to South Korea, Daily NK has learned.
“Reports about recent repatriations have been rapidly spreading here [in China], leaving many defectors anxious and afraid. An increasing number of people are saying they’ve given up any idea of going to South Korea,” a source in China told Daily NK on Monday.
According to the source, many defectors had been seeking brokers to lead them to South Korea after hearing that while many are caught on their way to South Korea, others make it there safely.
Because defectors are regarded as illegal aliens in China, they are excluded from most legal protections, as well as from welfare benefits such as health insurance. As a result, quite a few of them have resolved to leave China and go somewhere they can obtain legal status and greater security.
The lack of any notable action by the Chinese authorities following the repatriation of a large group of defectors in October 2023 had reportedly reassured some defectors that criticism from the international community was having an effect.
But the mood among defectors in China has shifted radically following recent reports from South Korea about additional repatriations. As a result, the source said, an increasing number of defectors intend to make a life for themselves in China without going to South Korea.
The current attitude of the local police has led many defectors in China to abandon their hopes of traveling to South Korea.
“The police have been telling defectors there’s no reason they would get arrested as long as they don’t commit crimes and encouraging them to go about their lives instead of foolishly attempting to go to South Korea and getting repatriated. That has led more defectors to decide to just make a home for themselves in China,” the source said.
But defectors remain anxious. Following the visit to North Korea on Apr. 11-13 by a high-ranking Chinese bureaucrat named Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, defectors in China reportedly feel more afraid of being repatriated than ever before.
“While the police reassure defectors that they won’t be arrested unless they commit a crime, they also say defectors need to answer the phone when they get a call and promptly show up at the station when asked to do so. That’s not conducive to peace of mind,” the source said.
“Defectors living in China can’t help feeling ongoing anxiety out of fear that they could be taken away [to North Korea] at any time.”
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
Read in Korean
dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Un · May 14, 2024
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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