Senior North Korean espionage official 'may have fled to Britain after defecting'

Telegraph ^ | 3 MAY 2018 | Julian Ryall

[TigerLikesRooster]

Senior North Korean espionage official 'may have fled to Britain after defecting'

By Julian Ryall, tokyo

3 MAY 2018 • 4:51AM

North Korea has launched an international manhunt for one of its most senior counter-espionage officers, who disappeared in late February and is believed to have defected, possibly to Britain, according to a media report in South Korea.

The official has been identified as a Mr Kang, a colonel in his 50s with the Ministry of State Security and responsible for monitoring dissident and espionage efforts in Russia, China and south-east Asia.

He disappeared from the Zhongpu International Hotel in the Chinese city of Shenyang on February 25, sources in China and North Korea told the Seoul-based DailyNK news website.

The hotel was previously known as the Chilbosan Hotel and was operated jointly by the North Korean and Chinese governments. The hotel has reportedly served as a key base for North Korean hackers operating in China.

The sources claim Mr Kang had been in charge of directing intelligence-gathering and ground operations, as well as overseeing the obtaining of data for North Korea’s nuclear programme by arranging covert exchanges between scientists.

The report added that he is understood to have fled with a large amount of foreign currency and a “machine capable of printing American dollars”.

[TigerLikesRooster]

machine capable of printing American dollars

My understanding is that this is actually an engraved plate for printing dollar bills.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[Fhios]

Probably would have been too embarrassing to have him defect to the U.S while we were opening negotiations.

[ryderann]

A Trump-Xi operation? No wonder Kim has sweetened up.

[thoughtomator]

Or perhaps this is anti-Trump peace talks sabotage.

Assuming the UK is on our side has proven to be a failed assumption. They did, after all, just play a significant role in attempting to overthrow the US government when the candidate they wanted didn’t win.

[BobL]

“My understanding is that this is actually an engraved plate for printing dollar bills.”

I was wondering. I suspect that the machine itself would be a bit difficult to hide in carry-on. As it is, he’ll still need decent paper, ink, and that security strip.

On the bright side for him, I doubt anyone will notice more US dollars being printed.

[trebb]

Yeah - think of how much it would benefit the UK to trash a potential end of the Korean War and a peace deal that takes nukes from a tyrant.....the whole world would worship them and kiss their feet............eye roll.

[AdmSmith]

Shenyang Chilbosan Hotel is temporarily unavailable on our site, but we found similar properties in Shenyang

https://hotelsnear.org/China/Shenyang

[AdmSmith]

North Koreans own a 70-percent stake in the hotel and Chinese the rest. The Chinese co-owners, a trading arm of Liaoning Hongxiang Group, were blacklisted by the UN Security Council last year for helping North Korea’s missile development and nuclear weapons programs.

When it opened in 2000, the hotel was capitalized at US$5 million. Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development chairwoman Ma Xiaohong was the vice president.

North Korean hackers are thought to have had an office in the hotel where they launched massive attacks on South Korean businesses.

The hotel apparently failed to find Chinese investors interested in buying out the North Korean stake. Nine North Korean restaurants in downtown Shenyang also closed down on Tuesday under the UN deadline.

The Haedanghwa restaurant in Beijing, which is wholly North Korean-owned, also shut and posted a message on its front door saying “closed for the day.”

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/01/10/2018011001157.html

[TigerLikesRooster]

Many of known N. Korean establishments were closed down. However, there are reports that at least some of them moved to another location and opened under different guise. On the surface, they reportedly look like typical Chinese establishments.

[ThanhPhero]

fled with a large amount of foreign currency and a “machine capable of printing American dollars”.

These counterfeiting machines are so good that only the US Treasury has equipment that can detect Nork 100.oo bills. Norkea floods SEA with them and it is probably Norkea's biggest source of foreign income after its extortion of foreign governments. Those 100s are enough to drive inflation in Việt Nam which has tried hard to maintain the value of the Đồng for two decades. VN has done a good job but it is not enough to compensate for the $Nork money.

[arthurus]

The Treasury would like to get its hands on one of those machines. Perhaps something can be learned from one to make it harder or impossible for Norkea to make undetectable counterfeits.

[piasa]

...arranging covert exchanges ...of scientists

Bet he has a lot to say about Iran and Syria.

[StoneWall Brigade]

Since Kim Jong un is in the mood peace he won’t mind a bit if we bring this dude here and have ourselves a little chat with him over the Norks nuclear program. As well their ties to the chicoms Iran and Syria.