North Korean spies disguised themselves as refugees to enter South Korea via Thailand on an alleged mission to “slit the throat” of a senior defector from the Communist North.
The two military officers were sent on a mission to kill Hwang Jang Yop, 87, the former secretary of the North Korean Workers’ Party, who defected to the South in 1997.
The pair were alleged to have received training in China in December before smuggling themselves into Thailand disguised as refugees.
The allegations of China’s involvement in the plot may strain diplomatic relations between Seoul and Beijing.
The two suspects—Kim Myong Ho and Dong Myong Kwan, both 36-year-old majors in the Korean People’s Army (KPA)—now face death sentences after being charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
An unnamed senior official at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office told reporters they said their orders were to “slit the betrayer’s throat.”
Hwang was once a close aide to the former leader and founder of the North regime, Kim ll-sung. He was the author of the country’s national philosophy of self-reliance and a leading ideologue.
He defected after hundreds of thousands died of famine during the 90s, causing great humiliation to Sung’s successor, Kim Jong-il.
Hwang left behind several close family members, many of whom are now believed to be in labor camps. Thirteen years on, his defection is still a sore subject for the country’s leaders.
Just two weeks ago, a North Korean news agency threatened him with death and described him as a “traitor and human scum.”
Following the arrest of Kim and Dong, questions will likely be asked of the need to properly vet North Korean’s seeking political asylum.
Hwang’s defection has been a catalyst for many political refugees from the totalitarian state.
In the year that he defected he was one of only 85 North Koreans who fled to the South. In 2008 there were 2,800.
South Korea is no stranger to death squads from the North. In 1968, dozens of commandos from North Korea attempted to storm the presidential palace in Seoul in a bid to assassinate President Park Chung-hee.
The two military officers were sent on a mission to kill Hwang Jang Yop, 87, the former secretary of the North Korean Workers’ Party, who defected to the South in 1997.
The pair were alleged to have received training in China in December before smuggling themselves into Thailand disguised as refugees.
The allegations of China’s involvement in the plot may strain diplomatic relations between Seoul and Beijing.
The two suspects—Kim Myong Ho and Dong Myong Kwan, both 36-year-old majors in the Korean People’s Army (KPA)—now face death sentences after being charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
An unnamed senior official at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office told reporters they said their orders were to “slit the betrayer’s throat.”
Hwang was once a close aide to the former leader and founder of the North regime, Kim ll-sung. He was the author of the country’s national philosophy of self-reliance and a leading ideologue.
He defected after hundreds of thousands died of famine during the 90s, causing great humiliation to Sung’s successor, Kim Jong-il.
Hwang left behind several close family members, many of whom are now believed to be in labor camps. Thirteen years on, his defection is still a sore subject for the country’s leaders.
Just two weeks ago, a North Korean news agency threatened him with death and described him as a “traitor and human scum.”
Following the arrest of Kim and Dong, questions will likely be asked of the need to properly vet North Korean’s seeking political asylum.
Hwang’s defection has been a catalyst for many political refugees from the totalitarian state.
In the year that he defected he was one of only 85 North Koreans who fled to the South. In 2008 there were 2,800.
South Korea is no stranger to death squads from the North. In 1968, dozens of commandos from North Korea attempted to storm the presidential palace in Seoul in a bid to assassinate President Park Chung-hee.
