Posted on 05/02/2010 8:08:48 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Some North Korean defectors in Seoul believe many spies from the communist country have entered South Korea pretending to be refugees, exploiting loopholes in the intelligence agency's screening system.
Their claim comes after two North Korean agents – both majors in the army's reconnaissance bureau – were arrested in April on charges of attempting to assassinate Hwang Jang-Yop, a high-ranking North Korean defector who has led anti-North campaigns.
The two spies entered South Korea separately in January and February through China and Thailand by posing as defectors.
Other defectors in Seoul said the North Korean officers were two among "quite a few spies" who have entered the South pretending to be asylum-seekers. "We believe many North Korean agents are operating in the South," a defector said.
All North Koreans who entered the South undergo questioning by South Korea's intelligence agency service for up to 90 days. Defectors say that period is "too short" and "too loose" to uncover spies.
"It seems difficult to find out whether North Koreans have come here for espionage activities or political asylum," another defector said. "When I arrived in South Korea, I was grilled for about one and a half months," she said.
In 2008, a North Korean female spy disguising as a refugee was arrested, but it was only the second such case discovered in South Korea during the previous 10 years, a time in which liberal presidents in Seoul had embraced the "sunshine" policy of peaceful engagement with the North.
In 2006, five spies, including one Korean-American businessman, were arrested. Based in China, they had passed national security information to the North including U.S. troop movements and backgrounds on hundreds of politicians and others.
The cases show the existence of deep-cover agents from the North.
(Excerpt) Read more at east-asia-intel.com ...
not “believe” - guarantee they are there
I’d be surprised if they weren’t there.
very intriguing...
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