South Korea's spy agency yesterday warned the country's top activist seeking the return of compatriots abducted by Pyongyang that agents from North Korea might try to attack him.
The National Intelligence Service said it delivered the warning to Choi Sung-yong, leader of a group of South Koreans whose relatives are believed to have been kidnapped to the North, after receiving a tip from a North Korean defector.
"We relayed this information to Choi to awaken caution as security of his office isn't good enough," the agency said in a prepared statement read to a reporter over the phone by an agency spokesman who declined to give his name.
Choi, 54, has led the relatives' association known as Come Back Home since 2000. He confirmed receiving the warning from the intelligence agency and the unidentified North Korean defector a few days ago.
"This isn't the first time," Choi said. "I've heard this kind of thing several times before, but this time it seems like the strongest. I feel threatened."
Choi asked to speak via cellphone rather than his office phone, saying he was concerned about wiretapping, and that he had been carrying a tear-gas gun since receiving a similar warning in July. It wasn't immediately clear whether the government would provide security to him.
Reports of North Korean agents suspected of attacking targets in the South are rare.
In 1997, Lee Han-young, a cousin of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il who defected to the South, was fatally shot in the head by unidentified gunmen outside his apartment near Seoul. North Korea was widely believed to be behind the attack but no arrests were made.
Choi -- whose father was abducted to North Korea aboard his fishing boat in 1967 -- said his vocal criticism of the communist regime and efforts to repatriate South Koreans believed to be held in the North may have angered Pyongyang. He has also participated in efforts to help North Koreans hiding in China after fleeing the communist state.
A total of 486 South Korean civilians, mostly fishermen, are believed to be held in the North after being abducted since the 1950-1953 Korean War. South Korea's government also estimates that 538 soldiers from the war were alive in the North as of last December.
North Korea denies holding any war prisoners and says the civilians defected voluntarily.
Choi has urged the government to do more to bring abductees and prisoners of war (POWs) home and was upset over his government's repatriation on Sunday of the body of an ex-communist spy to the North a day after his death.
Chung Soon-taek died of pancreatic cancer at age 84, and his body was then handed over at Pyongyang's request.
"This government sends the body of the long-term prisoner right away while saying nothing when our nationals die," he said. "Does this make sense?"
Chung was among 29 former communist spies and guerrillas living in the South after serving long prison terms. All have asked to return to the North and Pyongyang has demanded their repatriation.
But Seoul has refused, linking the issue to South Korean POWs and civilian abductees.
The two Koreas are still technically in a state of war as the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS