13 more problems for Trump-Kim summit: North Korean defectors
The alleged involvement of South Korean spies in the “defection” of North Korean restaurant workers in China has put a spanner in the works for Pyongyang’s negotiations with the US
In the video, a North Korean man identified as Heo Kang-il, his faced pixelated to protect his identity, makes an admission that has stunned the Korean peninsula.
Heo says he defected from his country, along with 12 young women, while running a North Korean state-owned restaurant in China. What sets his story aside from the many defections over the years is that the women say they didn’t know about the plan, but South Korea’s main spy agency did. And that has seemingly confirmed a long-held suspicion by the North that Seoul has taken an active role in turning its citizens.
If peace is coming, nobody told North Korean defectors
The two sides put a brave face on things last week when South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Kim in an apparent attempt to salvage the summit, pencilled in for June 12 in Singapore, after Trump backed out citing displeasure with hostile statements from Pyongyang. Photographs of Kim and Moon smiling and embracing – and an uncharacteristically calm statement from North Korea in which it asked the US to consider coming back to the negotiating table – appeared to do the trick. Soon after, Trump announced not only that the meeting would go ahead as planned, but that Moon may take part, too.
But behind those smiles, the defections still fester with Pyongyang. This week, North Korea’s official state media called for the defectors to be repatriated, saying settlement of the issue was a “prerequisite” to further progress. And on Saturday, North Korea floated the possibility of suspending talks if the defectors weren’t returned.
“The South Korean authorities should admit the unheard-of atrocity of the Park regime, severely punish those involved in the case, send our women citizens to their families without delay and thus show the will to improve the North-South ties,” said a statement from North Korea’s official news agency.