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South Korea Charges 5, Including American, with Spying for North
VOA news ^ | 08 December 2006 | Kurt Achin

Posted on 12/08/2006 8:40:58 PM PST by Jet Jaguar

South Korean authorities have charged five residents of Seoul, including a Korean-American businessman, with spying for North Korea. Prosecutors say the five took orders from Pyongyang, and funneled an abundant amount of information to North Korean spies, including some sensitive national intelligence. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

Friday's indictments followed an intensive two-month investigation of the five defendants, who were arrested in October.

South Korean senior prosecutor Ahn Chang-ho announces result of spy scandal investigation, 8 Dec. 2006 South Korean senior prosecutor Ahn Chang-ho announces result of spy scandal investigation, 8 Dec. 2006 Senior South Korean prosecutor Ahn Chang-ho says all five men passed information to North Korea in violation the South's National Security Law, which forbids a wide range of activities viewed as colluding with the North.

Ahn says the five men spied in an organized way after receiving instructions from North Korea. He calls it South Korea's biggest spy case since a historic 2000 North-South summit led to a warming of relations between the two countries.

The two are still technically at war since the 1950s Korean War ended in an armistice instead of a formal peace. But in the six years since that the inter-Korean summit, contacts between North and South have expanded rapidly. As a result, the lines defining "pro-North Korean" activity here have blurred.

The administration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has called for the repeal of the National Security Law, as part of a government policy of increased cooperation with Pyongyang.

Prosecutor Ahn says the five defendants, all of who live in Seoul, belong to a group called "Ilsimhoi," or "one mind." Ahn says the leader of the group is the Korean-American businessman, who first visited North Korea in 1989.

He says 44-year-old Jang Min-ho received political indoctrination during that first visit, and subsequently returned to Pyongyang several times. He says Jang eventually received more than $16,000 from North Korea and joined the North's ruling Korean Worker's Party.

Prosecutors say Jang and three of the other defendants met with North Korean agents in Beijing on several occasions, and passed on information relating to the personal backgrounds of South Korean politicians and the deployment of U.S. forces in the South. About 29,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed here to deter the North from repeating its 1950 invasion.

All of the defendants except Jang are previous or current members of South Korea's far-left Democratic Labor Party, widely perceived as the most North Korea-friendly of the South's major parties. DLP officials dismiss the spying allegations, saying the case deals with information easily available over the Internet.

South Korean intelligence officials are expanding their investigation to see if any other South Koreans are connected to the alleged spying activities.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: 1989; democraticlaborparty; dlp; ilsimhoi; jangminho; korea; lilkim; nk; nkorea; northkorea; onemind; spies

1 posted on 12/08/2006 8:41:02 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar
He says Jang eventually received more than $16,000 from North Korea and joined the North's ruling Korean Worker's Party.

That's a paltry amount for selling your homeland out to Communist thugs. What ignoramus's like this fail to understand is that the North would have laid waste to their country, several times, over the last 50 years if not for the ceaseless protection of the United States.

2 posted on 12/08/2006 8:43:43 PM PST by Zack Nguyen
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To: Jet Jaguar

Get out the popcorn...this should be interesting.


3 posted on 12/08/2006 8:43:54 PM PST by EagleUSA
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To: Jet Jaguar
Shoot 'em....in the back of the head.All of 'em....including the American.
4 posted on 12/08/2006 8:49:06 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (An empty limousine pulled up and Hillary Clinton got out)
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To: Jet Jaguar
Prosecutors say Jang and three of the other defendants met with North Korean agents in Beijing on several occasions, and passed on information relating to the personal backgrounds of South Korean politicians and the deployment of U.S. forces in the South.

For some reason, this picture comes to mind...


5 posted on 12/08/2006 8:54:11 PM PST by operation clinton cleanup
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To: Jet Jaguar
<[The administration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has called for the repeal of the National Security Law, as part of a government policy of increased cooperation with Pyongyang. ]

Liberalism, spreading national suicide throughout the world, as per usual.

6 posted on 12/08/2006 9:13:18 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Democracy: The worst form of government, except for all the others.)
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To: Jet Jaguar
"Prosecutor Ahn says the five defendants, all of who live in Seoul, belong to a group called "Ilsimhoi," or "one mind."

Trying to keep all these groups straight is like trying to keep track of NGOs.

7 posted on 12/08/2006 9:20:43 PM PST by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

maybe especially the American?


8 posted on 12/08/2006 9:21:29 PM PST by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

FYI.


9 posted on 12/08/2006 9:30:49 PM PST by Slings and Arrows ("Nancy [Pelosi] was voted the Number one reason why men in San Francisco are homosexuals."-Wikiality)
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To: Jet Jaguar

An "American", huh?


10 posted on 12/08/2006 9:37:36 PM PST by BnBlFlag (Deo Vindice/Semper Fidelis "Ya gotta saddle up your boys; Ya gotta draw a hard line")
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To: Slings and Arrows; BnBlFlag
Chang signed up on espionage way back in early 80's. He became an American citizen on the order of N. Korea. That way he can have a better cover for his work. He served in USFK in late 80's to be on a fast track to U.S. citizenship.

This guy has been groomed for a long time. For exposing this spy ring, SK's spy-master was fired. It tells you how minds of top figures in SK government work.

11 posted on 12/08/2006 10:55:49 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Thanks for the background.


12 posted on 12/08/2006 11:57:16 PM PST by Slings and Arrows ("Nancy [Pelosi] was voted the Number one reason why men in San Francisco are homosexuals."-Wikiality)
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