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
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.
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.
The developments mark a dramatic turn of fate for the revolutionary group, which claimed it wanted to help US authorities by handing over computers and other items stolen from the North Korean embassy that it characterised as potentially having “enormous” intelligence value.
Hong’s lawyer Lee Wolosky said he was “dismayed that the US Department of Justice has decided to execute warrants against US persons that derive from criminal complaints” filed by North Korea.
“The last US citizen who fell into the custody of the Kim regime returned home maimed from torture and did not survive,” he said, referring to Otto Warmbier, a US college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 and died soon after being flown back to the United States in a coma in 2017.
The Justice Department spokeswoman noted that “an individual who has been extradited to another country to face criminal charges cannot thereafter be extradited to a third country without the consent of the original country”.
The group asserted responsibility for the raid last month after a judge in Spain lifted a secrecy order in the case and accused Hong and two other men of taking part in the incident as a part of a 10-member group.
The brazen daylight raid in February came just five days before President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, and raised questions about whether it was the work of government intelligence services.
The judge, Jose de la Mata, said evidence of various crimes had been found, including trespassing, threats, illegal detentions and burglary committed by a “criminal organisation”. The judge said one of the men later shared material stolen from the embassy with the FBI.
The March statement by Cheolima Civil Defence disputed Spanish media reports that its members beat and gagged embassy staff.
“All occupants in the embassy were treated with dignity and necessary caution,” the group insisted. It also claimed “no other governments” were aware of the raid until it occurred. Initial media reports in Spain alleged that the CIA was involved.
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on Tuesday the US government “had nothing to do with” the incident.
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The group’s description of events could not be independently confirmed, but Wolosky said his client can verify its account, including that the Cheolima Civil Defence members were invited into the embassy.
According to Spanish media reports, the assailants tied up the embassy staff with rope, put hoods over their heads and asked them questions.
More than an hour into the raid, a woman reportedly escaped, and her screams for help alerted a neighbour, who contacted police. When authorities arrived at the embassy, a man opened the door and told them there was no problem. Moments later, the embassy gates opened, and the assailants dashed out to two embassy cars and sped away, according to local reports. The vehicles were found abandoned on a nearby street.
