Deputy Ambassador of North Korea Weekend Ray making a statement before the withdrawal of the embassy. yunhap news
The Associated Press reported on the 20th (local time) that a North Korean man named Moon Chul-myeong (56), who was delivered to the United States from Malaysia on charges of illegal money laundering, was detained by the US authorities. Moon was detained the day before by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, the capital of the United States. The Associated Press explained that it was the first case in which Moon was handed over to the United States for trial.
In the statement, Mr. Moon denied all charges against him. Moon is known to insist that the delivery of his recruits was due to the political purpose of the United States to exert pressure on North Korea.
Previously, Malaysian authorities handed over the recruits to the United States on charges of involvement in money laundering, and North Korea rebelled against this and declared a severance of diplomatic relations with Malaysia. I left the country.
The FBI requested that Mr. Moon send luxury goods such as alcohol and watches to North Korea in violation of sanctions against North Korea and laundered money through a ghost company, and requested the delivery of recruits to Malaysia in May 2019.
In this regard, a Washington DC federal court judge issued an arrest warrant for Moon on May 2 of that year on charges of money laundering and other charges. Malaysian authorities arrested Moon the same month.
The Malaysian court approved the extradition in December of the same year, and the Malaysian Supreme Court dismissed Moon’s appeal earlier this month for refusing to extradite recruits.
Moon is known to have lived in Malaysia with his family for the past 10 years and worked for the North Korean regime. There are also charges of laundering money through a ghost company with only one name and creating fraudulent documents to support illegal shipments, the AP reported.
Moon’s lawyer said he was concerned that Mr. Moon would not get a fair trial in the United States. In addition, the AP reported that India is “according to political motives,” and is claiming that it is aimed at increasing pressure on North Korea over the missile program.
In a statement through the Chosun Central News Agency on the 19th, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry first revealed the fact of the delivery of Mr. Moon to the United States, and claimed the charges against him as “absurd fabrication and complete insult.” He also said it would pay a price for the United States for requesting the delivery of new recruits.
Reporter Bae Jae-seong [email protected]
