Facebook Twitter 新浪微博 Instagram YouTube Friday, Jul 15, 2016
Search
Archive
English
English>>World

DPRK defector confesses attempt to abduct children to South Korea

(Xinhua)    15:52, July 15, 2016

PYONGYANG, July 15 -- A defector from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Friday that he has committed "severe treason" by attempting to abduct two DPRK girls to South Korea.

On May 27, Ko Hyon Chol was caught trying to smuggle two girls, eight- and nine-year-old respectively, from the DPRK border to the South side.

At a press conference, Ko accused South Korea's National Intelligence Service of plotting the whole case and the U.S. direct manipulation behind it.

He said the two girls he chose came from an orphanage in the DPRK's northwestern province of North Pyongan.

Ko, 53, was born and brought up in the North Pyongan Province. He used to be a worker at a forestry public institution, but later started to engage in smuggling to earn more money, according to his confession at the conference.

On April 25, 2014, Ko succeeded in arriving in Incheon of South Korea via Southeast Asian countries and later began to take orders from South Korea's National Intelligence Service to collect information about the DPRK.

Evidence shown at the press conference includes a flashlight, two rubber boats employed to carry the kidnapped girls, new clothes to be given to the children, mobile phones he used to contact South Korean intelligence and a room card of a hotel where he stayed.

He said that the 12 waitresses who had reportedly defected to South Korea earlier this year were in fact abducted by Seoul agents and the current kidnapping attempt by him was Seoul's conspiracy to further mislead the public into believing that the DPRK residents fled to the South on scale because of human rights abuses at home.

In early April, South Korea's Unification Ministry said a group of 13 DPRK people working in an overseas restaurant, including 12 waitresses and one manager, defected to South Korea.

However, the DPRK government insisted this was "a group abduction" and demanded South Korea immediately return the 13 DPRK nationals.

Pyongyang even offered to send the families of the waitresses to Seoul for a meeting with their children, but the proposal was rejected by South Korea.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Editor:Kong Defang,Bianji)

Add your comment

Related reading

We Recommend

Most Viewed

Day|Week

Key Words