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Norks pinch Hyundai staffer
 North Korea on Monday morning arrested a Hyundai Asan staffer working at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex on charges of insulting the regime. A South Korean government official said North Korea claims the staffer denounced the political system, and "sought to corrupt a North Korean female worker and cajole her into defecting from the North." The veracity of the claim could not be confirmed."Around 11:50 a.m., the immigration office of North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Complex sent a telephone message that they are investigating a South Korean staffer in the industrial park in accordance with relevant regulations," the Unification Ministry said. A cross-border agreement on the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mt. Kumgang tourist area stipulates that if a South Korean staffer violates laws and regulations there, North Korea will investigate and notify South Korea of the violation, and warn, fine or deport the offender. Observers say it is improbable that a staffer with Hyundai Asan, which has been Pyongyang's main South Korean business partner for years, intentionally made remarks that would irritate the North at a time when it is imminently launching what the West believes is a ballistic missile. A researcher with a South Korean government-funded think tank said it is more likely the North is holding the man hostage, much in the way it has arrested two U.S. journalists for on charges of spying.
Posted by: Steve White 2009-04-01 |
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