US authorities make first arrest linked to mysterious raid of North Korea’s embassy in Spain

Former US marine Christopher Ahn was arrested on Thursday and appeared on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles

Separately, armed federal agents raided the flat of Adrian Hong, leader of Cheolima Civil Defence, the group blamed for the February embassy raid

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North Korea’s embassy in Madrid, Spain on March 27, 2019. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:13am, 20 Apr 2019Updated: 9:56pm, 20 Apr 2019

US authorities have made the first arrest related to the mysterious raid of North Korea’s embassy in Spain in which masked assailants tied up staff, stole computers and fled to the United States, according to two people familiar with the matter.

On Thursday, federal authorities arrested Christopher Ahn, a former US Marine and a member of Cheolima Civil Defence, a group dedicated to the overthrow of North Korea’s Kim Dynasty. He appeared in a federal-district court in Los Angeles on Friday where his lawyer requested the case be sealed. The court ruled in the attorney’s favour over the government’s objections, a Justice Department spokesman said.

A member of North Korea’s embassy staff tells reporters not to take pictures of the diplomatic building in Madrid, Spain on March 13, 2019. Photo: AP

Separately, federal agents raided the flat of Adrian Hong, the leader of Cheolima Civil Defence, said people familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive law enforcement issue.

A spokesman with the FBI deferred questions on the case to the Justice Department.

“We will not comment on this particular matter at this time,” said Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department.