Is the former spy-chief of S. Korea a N. Korean spy ?

independent.co.kr ^ | 02/16/03

[TigerLikesRooster]

Is the former spy-chief of S. Korea a N. Korean spy ?

My Comment:

This is my selective summary of the long article in Korean posted on a few conservative sites in S. Korea yesterday and today, including independent.co.kr and cppc.or.kr.

It makes an explosive allegation, on a par with the cash-for-summit scandal. Even if we are not certain at this time that his allegation is really true, it nevertheless reveals the quite troubling conduct of people who are at the center of political power in S. Korea.

Kim Ki-Sam, a whistle-blower and a former intelligence officer at the National Intelligence Services in S. Korea, who broke open the "cash-for-summit" scandal, makes another explosive allegation.

He is now reported to be residing in America.

BEGIN SUMMARY.

After Kim Dae-Jung took power, I began to suspect that there is a N. Korean spy operating at the highest level of S. Korean government. Because it was my judgement that a man as cunning as Kim Jong-Il would not engage a dialogue with S. Korea unless he knows for sure every move of S. Korean government. I have pondered alone for a long time, "If there is a spy, who would that be ?" And my conclusion was, "Lim Dong-Won must be the one." (my note: Lim Dong-Won is the former chief of the National Intelligence Services (NIS), the former Minister of Unification, and the current Special Aide to the President on Diplomatic and National Security Affairs.)

• After the naval clashes in the Yellow Sea last June, Mr. Lim dismissed it as a mere accident, playing down the possibility of Kim Jong-Il's direct involvement in the matter. My recollection of N. Korean intelligence is that, after the humiliating loss they suffered at the naval confrontation against S. Korean navy in June, 1999, Kim Jong-Il ordered the N. Korean navy chief to avenge the loss within a year. However, it took time and money to upgrade their capability and plot their retaliation. It took them 3 years to finally carry out the Kim Jong-Il's order in June last year. Surely, Lim Dong-Won must be aware of such an intelligence. Why was he in such a hurry to dismiss it then ? Could it be that he is a spy ?

• Looking back, he has been the apologist for N. Korea too many times. He insisted, for example, that June '99 clash was also not a deliberate act of N. Korea but an unfortunate accident. Last June, at the S. Korean Army Academy, he blamed America for escalating tension in the Korean Peninsula with "war threat", deflecting a blame away from Kim Jong-Il.

• Another egregious example is his treatment of Mr. Hwang Jang-Yop, a prominent N. Korean defector. Mr. Lim banned all of his outside activities. Mr. Hwang was the strong critic of Kim Jong-Il and the advocate of N. Korean democratization. Mr. Lim placed him under virtual house arrest. He could not go where he wants, meet whom he wants, and say what he wants. Under the government with the so-called human right's champion as its president, Mr. Hwang's basic human rights were thoroughly trampled just because he opposed the government's policy toward N. Korea. Mr Lim even threatened to lift the protection of Mr. Hwang when Mr. Hwang wanted to go to America to testify about N. Korea (my note: Such a lift would expose Mr. Hwang to N. Korean agents out to kill him.)

• Right before I left the National Intelligence Services (NIS), one of my colleageus told me about the following episode. On September 2000, Kim Yong-Soon, a high-ranking official of N. Korea, arrived in Seoul. There was a banquet in his honor at the Walker-Hill Hotel. Park Ji-Won, then the Minister of Culture(my note: He is now the Chief Secretary to the President.) was invited to attend. Toward the end of the banquet, Mr. Park was really drunk and shouted, "There are two commies inside the National Intelligence Services(NIS). They should stand trial if the government changes hands." The two commies he refered to were Lim Dong-Won and Kim Bo-Hyun. At the time, Mr. Park and Mr. Lim were politically at odds because Mr. Lim backed the sacking of Mr. Park, who was embroiled in Hanvit Bank's loan scandal. In my opinion, Mr. Park vented out his anger by spelling out what he suspected about Mr. Lim and Mr. Kim.

• During Mr. Lim's tenure as the NIS chief, the analysts at the N. Korean Bureau were under a great deal of pain. They frequently deplored to me, "His behaviors totally frustrate us." Any objective reports on N. Korea were met with his angry rebukes if the reports contain something even slightly negative about N. Korea. The analysts could not produce any reports which make sense. One had to wonder if he is really on our side.

• At the beginning of Kim Dae-Jung government, those in charge of collecting N. Korean intelligence often picked up information, "For better interKorean relationship, Lim Dong-Won should be in charge." N. Korea prefers that a S. Korean figure who was originally from N. Korea is in charge of dealing with them. However, it is highly unusual for them to indicate their preference so blatantly.

• In 1991, Mr. Lim traveled to N. Korea as a member of a S. Korean working group 10 times. N. Koreans arranged his secret meeting with his long-lost sister. It is highly likely that N. Koreans recruited him there.
• Mr. Lim's behavior underwent some change after he was pushed out of the position of the NIS chief on March 27, 2001. That was immediately after Kim Dae-Jung's meeting with Bush disastrously failed. Kim Jong-Il was disappointed that Kim Dae-Jung failed to make tangible improvement on behalf of the relation between America and N. Korea. N. Koreans broke off all engagements with S. Korean government, starting with ministrial level talks. Since then,he was no longer the enthusiastic supporter of engagements with N. Korea at all costs as he was. He explained at great length on TV why sending electricity to N. Korea is not feasible. 8/15 S. Korean delegation to N. Korea failed. His change was noticed by N. Koreas who were heard muttering among themselves, "We can no longer count on Lim Dong-Won." This implies that there was a good reason for N. Koreans to trust him previously. I wonder why.
• A fews years ago, a high-ranking officer of the Military Security Command was investigating an important figure at the Presidential Office, on the suspicion of espionage. Because of that, he was forced into the retirement. An officer at NIS whom I knew pretty well also drew a plan of criminal investigation into a prominent figure at the Presidential Office, again on the suspicion of espionage. But his superiors forced him to drop the plan. There is a reason why no spies have been caught under this government. It is not that there are no spies. There are many many spies. But some spies are at the highest level of this government. No wonder no spies were caught!

END SUMMARY

[Steel Wolf]

Fascinating stuff, TLR. Regardless of whether or not this individual is guilty, the whole of the South Korean government, be it civilian or military, is riddled with North Korean agents, informants and sympathizers. We are very selective on what information we share with them. Collectively, they can't be trusted with information better than CNN, or it will find it's way to Pyongyang in an hour.

The odd thing is many of the 'spies' seem to be less driven by political ideology and more so by what I could only call being 'true believers' in reunification. Koreans culture is a very xenophobic and homogenous one, and deep down some of them want to be reunited at any cost. It's not exactly nationalism, but it is far more than tribalism.

Korea will never be happy until it is reunited. Some South Koreans can't take the strain of waiting, and seek to help the North and the South become one, no matter the price.

[Thud]

Also look at the bag-men for the $200 million payoff. Who were their superiors? "Follow the money. Always follow the money." Deep Throat.

BTW, do you recall what the two criteria are for the US being ready to take out NK and let it do whatever it wants to SK before going down? The pull-out of American hostages in SK plus deployment of ABM defenses in Japan? The former hit the headlines the week after I said that. Here's something on the latter.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&u=/nm/20030217/wl_nm/arms_japan_missile_dc_1&printer=1

Japan, US to Hold Missile-Intercept Tests

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has decided to start joint experiments with the United States next year on shooting down ballistic missiles, a response to rising tensions over North Korea (news - web sites)'s suspected nuclear weapons program, a Japanese newspaper reported on Monday.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said Tokyo and Washington planned to carry out the experiments from the financial year starting in April 2004, as Pyongyang appeared likely to resume missile tests amid the crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan and the United States have been jointly studying a theater missile defense (TMD) system aimed at shielding U.S. troops in Asia and its allies, but they have not yet conducted tests aimed at intercepting incoming ballistic missiles.

Tokyo began studying the technology for such a system with Washington after North Korea launched a ballistic missile that passed over Japan in August 1998, but has stopped short of moving the project to the development stage for fear of angering China. Beijing is opposed to a U.S.-led regional missile defense system out of concerns that it would be extended to include Taiwan, which it views as a renegade province.

A Japanese Defense Ministry official declined to comment on the report.

The paper said Tokyo and Washington will decide whether to move to full-scale development of the system after completing the joint experiments, to be held in Hawaii for two years.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Japan ought to develop a missile defense system with the United States, since it lacks the capability to defend itself from missile attacks from North Korea.

He said an unspecified number of Rodong missiles with ranges of 750 miles were already deployed in North Korea.

In 1993, North Korea upset Japan by test-firing a medium-range Rodong-1 missile into the Sea of Japan.

And in August 1998, North Korea launched a three-stage Taepodong-1 missile over Japan, demonstrating that major population areas including Tokyo were within the estimated 600 mile range of the missile.

U.S. officials said last week that Pyongyang had a three-stage Taepodong-2 missile that could reach the West Coast of the United States, but that the missile had not been tested.

A standoff over North Korea's suspected nuclear program has been simmering since October, when Washington said Pyongyang had admitted pursuing a program to enrich uranium in violation of major international treaty commitments.

Since then, North Korea has expelled U.N. nuclear inspectors, withdrawn from a treaty which aims to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and said it is ready to restart a mothballed reactor capable of producing plutonium for bombs.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #21

Most of unification-at-all-cost crowds are left-leaning. The political left co-opted the issue of unification as their own. This view is of the third world left-wing ideology, which is big on national liberation and anti-imperialist struggle.

Many do not realize that they are duped by these leftists. They think that denouncing the previous military dictatorship is perfectly OK but denouncing the N. Korean regime is anti-unification, reactionary behavior.

They also think that N. Korean regime thinks like they do on the issue of Korea and her future. Nothing can be further from the truth.

[Steel Wolf]

Many do not realize that they are duped by these leftists. They think that denouncing the previous military dictatorship is perfectly OK but denouncing the N. Korean regime is anti-unification, reactionary behavior.

That is the part that I've never been able to figure out. The unification types seem to intellectually realize that North Korea is a bad place lead by bad people. Emotionally they seem to think that Koreans would never really want to hurt other Koreans, and that reunification would solve the North / South differences.

"If only Korea was unified, then the war would end, the Americans would leave, and the land would be healed."

A fairy tale, perhaps, but after living for fifty years under the threat of war and death, an understandable one.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #24

As you said, there is a strong latent desire to solve the division of Korea which was imposed by big powers.

The left use it to ignore the brutal oppression in N. Korea. To them, the division is worse than the details, such as the brutal nature of N. Korea. The left is appealing to the twisted kind of nationalism or patriotism, which is that standing up to big power matters over all other considerations, even if it means the wholesale oppresseion of one's own kind.

The left made it politically correct thing to do. The closest analogy is Israeli's accomodation at all costs under Barak gov. The accomodation was PC in Israel until the Temple Mount riot started the current series of unending suicide attacks.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #22

I am not sure if the withdrawal of troops and the deployment of fully operational ABM can be both done in two years. I think that the current crisis won't drag that long.

[MeekOneGOP]

bttt

[Thud]

If you mean the current crisis won't last that long because North Korea won't exist that long, please elaborate. I agree, but would like to see your reasoning.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #28

I do not see Bush admin backing away that easily even if its rhetoric could appear to vacillate from time to time.

In my opinion, N. Korea also believes that giving 2 years of time to U.S. will guarantee that U.S. will go after it with full diplomatic and economic pressure back up by full military force eventually.

N. Korea thinks that it is racing against time. It has to get significant concessions from U.S. fast or it will deploy nukes or new missiles with better range.

N. Korea must feel that creating the current crisis is the risk worth taking, given their disastrous economic and political situations within.

[GOP_1900AD]

Two comments. It was utterly insane to allow a man whose sister was still in the hands of the Communists to have even the most rudimentary security clearance, let alone any security authority. If true, this situation utterly endorses and corroborates the thesis of Anatoliy Golitsyn.

[Domestic Church]

Koreans culture is a very xenophobic and homogenous one, and deep down some of them want to be reunited at any cost. It's not exactly nationalism, but it is far more than tribalism.

I think the large number of divided families plays into this unification desire too and it could easily be a tool for the North Koreans.

Interesting that the Moonies use this term as defining their religion.

[Domestic Church]

"Most of unification-at-all-cost crowds are left-leaning."

I suspect there are some conservative(but covert communist)operations that are using unification.