Posted on 05/02/2003 5:59:59 AM PDT by wretchard
May 2 2003
An official of North Korea's governing party was aboard a ship accused of bringing $80 million worth of heroin into Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
Mr Downer today summoned North Korea's ambassador to Australia Chon Jae Hong to a meeting with government officials to express concern about the North Korean government's possible role in trafficking drugs.
Mr Downer said intelligence agencies had told the federal government that the North Korean government had been involved in selling drugs to raise funds for the regime.
Some 26 North Korean crew members of the Pong Su remain in custody after being charged with helping import 50kg of pure heroin into Lorne in south-western Victoria.
Mr Downer said the ship was owned by the North Korean's ruling Korean Workers' Party.
"We are concerned because the ship is Korean owned and it's a totalitarian state, so in effect it (the ship) is government owned," Mr Downer told reporters in Adelaide today.
"Whilst we can't prove that the government made the decision to send this ship and sell drugs into Australia to make money, we are concerned that instrumentalities of the government may have been involved in this.
"It would be a matter of very great outrage to us if evidence continues to point to elements of the North Korean government having knowledge of this".
Mr Downer said the North Korean ambassador to Australia would be told of Australia's concern.
"We understand there was a member of the Korean Workers' Party onboard the ship ... and we are very concerned that there could be any association between North Korea and drug trafficking in order to raise money," he said.
"This was a very substantial amount of material that was brought to Australia and we at this stage don't know the details of what links there may have been between the Korean Workers' Party ... and the actual trafficking which has been taking place here.
"We are laying down some markers to North Korea today that we are very concerned about this.
"We have this ship, we have a large quantity of heroin which has been found.
"We are interviewing now the crew from the ship, trying to establish what the situation really is - we have confirmed there is a member of the Korean Workers' Party who is on board the ship."
Mr Downer would not speculate on what, if any, action would be taken by the government after meeting with the North Korean ambassador.
He was along for the ride.
He wanted to guard his investment.
Support the North Korean government---continue the War On Some Drugs!
He had better kill himself to save his family or file for a political asylum. Being alive and sent back will be the worst.
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