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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| North Korea Female Spy Caught |
| 2008-08-27 |
| Prosecutors indicted a 34-year-old North Korean female defector Wednesday on charges of spying for the communist nation. The woman, identified as Won Jeong-hwa, allegedly relayed military secrets she obtained from Army officers with whom she was having sexual relations over the past five years to the North. She is the first female spy to be arrested since Lee Sun-sil, a key figure in North Korea's Communist Party, was apprehended on espionage charges in 1992, and the first defector to violate the National Security Law. Prosecutor Kim Kyeong-su said this was also the first case of spying uncovered since the two Koreas held a historic summit in 2000. If she is convicted, the case would confirm concerns over infiltration by agents posing as refugees. According to prosecutors, Won confessed that she was a trained North Korean spy. Originally, the suspect fled the North after stealing tons of zinc, which is a capital crime there. Won returned to the North in 1998 after hiding in northeastern China for years and later became a spy for North Korea's National Security Agency, they said. How do you steal tons of zinc? Her mission ¯ based in China ¯ was to kidnap defectors there for repatriation. She later pretended to be an ethnic Korean Chinese woman and married a South Korean factory worker before coming to the South in 2001. After her arrival, she reported herself as a North Korean defector and worked as a lecturer on anti-communism at military camps nationwide. According to investigators, she maintained romantic relations with three to four officers and even shared an apartment with an Army First Lieutenant Hwang. The 27-year-old Hwang reportedly suspected that his partner was a spy, but ignored the fact and handed her classified military information. Oooh, isn't he a smart guy... Won's main mission here included establishing the whereabouts of North Korean defectors such as the former secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party Hwang Jang-yop, a key architect of Pyongyang's Juche (self-reliance) theory and the highest-ranking defector in the South in 1997. Waaay up there on the "human scum" list, I'm sure... However, investigators said she failed. The joint investigation team of the prosecution, police, Military Intelligence Agency and the National Intelligence Service said Won was even ordered to poison some South Korean agents but also failed. The prosecution also detained Hwang for collaborating with her, and a 63-year-old man named Kim, who relayed military secrets Won obtained to the North. Kim is said to be her stepfather and a relative of North Korea's titular leader Kim Young-nam. Authorities said Won received operational funds from Kim, who went to China in 1999 and came to Seoul as a defector in late 2006 through Cambodia. Won had visited China 14 times over the past five years. Investigators said Won had been under deep stress after adjusting to life in the South and took tranquillizers on a regular basis out of concern that a North Korean agent might kill her. Prosecutors indicated that their investigation could expand to other North Koreans here as they believe more spies might have entered the South as defectors. Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee expressed ``deep regret'' over the incident involving military officers and apologized to the people. He said the ministry would investigate the case further, and pledged to take measures to prevent a recurrence. ``The ministry will take additional security measures on personnel and facility management, communications, computer systems and confidential military documents,'' Lee added. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #8 D *** NG IT, Iff its NOT NOKOR's NEW NOODLES, WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-08-27 20:01 |
| #7 "Ignored the fact and handed her classfied military information [anyway]". WOW, THE NOKOR'S NEW SUPER-NOODLES ARE THAT GOOD! |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-08-27 19:57 |
| #6 She has funny eyes! |
| Posted by: Butch Ebbuper4217 2008-08-27 18:09 |
| #5 How do you steal tons of zinc? Answer, two ways, the hard way, get a truck and load it, then drive away. The easy way, type up documents sending a shipment to a different shipping point, where your friends do the hard work. (See#1) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-08-27 16:41 |
| #4 Pic at the link is classic, looks like it is right out of a Singles ad: "SKF, new in town, seeks companion for romantic dinners, long walks on the beach, and discussion of military secrets. Officers a plus." |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2008-08-27 15:49 |
| #3 TW that woudl certainly be the cover you'd want to play with if you were the SKors. It produces doubt as to the veracity of any information she obtained, and will cause a lot of reasessment and doubt up north. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-27 13:39 |
| #2 The 27-year-old Hwang reportedly suspected that his partner was a spy, but ignored the fact and handed her classified military information. Could Lt. Hwang have been providing her with false information? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-27 12:55 |
| #1 How do you steal tons of zinc? She ate it? |
| Posted by: charger 2008-08-27 12:24 |