Posted on 05/07/2003 5:02:07 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
/start my translation
German Human Right Activist Vollertsen: "Ready For A Massive Defection of High Ranking N. Korean Figures"
Norbert Vollertsen(age 45: a doctor), a German human right activist, who has been actively helping N. Korean escapees confirmed on 6th (of May, 2003) that 20 high ranking N. Korean figures, including a N. Korean nuclear physicist Dr. Kyoung Won-Ha, did defect and that some of them are now staying in Washington D.C., U.S.A..
However, he refused to confirm whether Dr. Kyoung Won-Ha, known as the father of N. Korean nuclear development, himself is staying in Washington D.C..
Mr. Vollertsen is staying in Tokyo now. In a telephone interview with this reporter this morning, he disclosed, "This defection is only a fraction of the massive defection project for high ranking N. Korean figures, which is orchestrated to bring about the collapse of the Kim Jong-Il regime .
He further stated, "Along with Michael Horrowitz(sp?), the project director of human rights and international freedom of religion, of Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, James Woosley, the former director of CIA, and the Radio Free Asia, which is in charge of broadcasting toward high ranking N. Korean figures, I have been involved in this project since last summer."
About his role in this project, he explained, "Even after my expulsion in December, 2000, I have been in contact with acquaintances in N. Korea through means such as e-mail, and played a role of connecting them with people in Washington D.C..
He disclosed, "While S. Korea was swept in a frenzy of World Cup (Soccer Tournament) last summer, A first conference about this project was held in Washington D.C. and a few more meeting of people involved thereafter. I will be in Washington D.C. again for another meeting."
According to the internet edition of Yomiuri Shimbun (of Japan), Mr. Vollertsen told the newspaper that three N. Koreans, one nuclear physicist and two high ranking military figures, are staying in Washington D.C..
/end my translation
In another longer article from this paper, Dong-A Ilbo, there is a transcript of this interview. I do not have enough time to translate it now. But I will give it a try later on.
In it, he stated that America was involved in this project and provided financial assistance. He further stated that there are many high level N. Korean elites disaffected with N. Korean regime, who are eager to defect. U.S. tried to open a diplomatic mission of Nauru in Pyongyang but it failed. They did open one in Beijing instead. He said that China was probably aware of this activity (defection project) but S. Korean government was out of the loop.
He is now in Japan to promote the Japanese version of his book on N. Korea, while at the same time meeting families of Japanese abductees and Japanese political/media figures.
I do know that most outside contacts with N. Korea were shut down. Those who manage to go in are in mandatory 7-10 days of quarantine before they get on with their businesses. But I have not heard about this news you mentioned.
DPRK, IMHO, seem to be closing in on themselves due to fear. My thought: the SARS thing is just an excuse to tighten the xenophobic Stalinist noose...and if they can get propaganda traction out of it that "Juche keeps our Republic clean", they will milk it for every drop.
In about three weeks I will be in the JSA area at Panmunjom. I also believe there may be an opportunity to meet interesting people in Tokyo and if anything newsworthy comes of it, I'll post a FReeport and 'ping' you and others.
Kim Jong-Il's paranoia will work against him. It will further weaken the effetive functioning of his regime, just as in the case of Saddam Hussein. Many elites will really lose hope, and live in abject fear. And still it won't be completely safe for Kim Jong-Il and his loyalists.
N. Korean regime will screw itself before America gets into any serious visible action. PsyOp has already started. It worked in Iraq. It would work in N. Korea, too.
This time around, the real pressure is being applied to N. Korean regime. Previously, we hoped it would collapse sooner or later. But we made the mistake of supplying them with critical life support materials and not applying any real pressure, hoping that N. Korea will loosen up. And China was also keen to prop it up. N. Korea was free to do its missile/nuke bomb business with Mid-East countries, exporting drugs, getting a lot of cash from Kim Dae-Jung.
If all of that is gone and N. Korean elites keep defecting, the regime is in trouble.
Bruce Cummings can dream whatever he wants. He has been out of it for a long time. He even claimed that '95-'97 famine "a temporary recession" which N. Korea would get out of. Yeah, right. N. Korea did improve a bit after massive injection of money and material from S. Korea, America, and Japan. N. Korean economy is in permanent life support. Cumming is an idiot who has trouble with eating his words. He blamed S. Korea for starting the Korean War until documents from Soviet archives conclusively proved otherwise. He has no credibility. But he is a biggie in E. Asian Studies. Everyone who wants to get a job in this area has to kowtow to him. The completely discredited leftie ideologues still has too much power. I cringe every time his name is mentioned.
"Mene mene tekel upharsin" seems to be written on a lot of walls lately.
Actually, Hwang Jang-Yop, the former party secretary of N. Korean Worker's Party and the most prominent N. Korean defector to date, maintains that the resolute steady pressure to N. Korea will force it to drastically change its course even without any military confrontation. He said, in a recent talk, that Kim Jong-Il was such a selfish egoist that he would not dare go suicidal by taking on U.S. with his nukes. In short, he does not mind starving millions of N. Koreans to stay in power but he won't risk his own life just to go down in a blaze of glory rather than back off.
I heard it from a guy studying E. Asian Studies a long time ago. He is either a Korean or a Korean American. I am not sure if Cummings said it in any of his publications or talks at some conference. I cannot help you on this matter, unfortunately. But apparently he is no longer advancing his one-time pet theory of wholly blaming S. Korea for the Korean War.
He sent several letters to people in America, including some lawmakers, asking their help in this matter. Apparently, S. Korean authories try to drag out the procedure of security checks for N. Korean defectors when they travel abroad, which could last more than a month. His request would be still rejected.
It is not as if they would have trouble keeping track of him. He will be in America and in company of so-called hardliners against N. Korea. What security problem does he have ? His background is patently well-known. I think that the authorities fear that his words will discredit current S. Korean policy toward N. Korea. It is even possible that Mr. Hwang could defect again to America, which would be a huge embarrassment to S. Korean government, not seen since the late Kim Hyong-Uk testified in the U.S. Congress against the then-president Park Chung-Hee.
A correction
His request would be still rejected. --> His request could be still rejected.
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