North Korea beats allies aiming for “dankyo” in Malay to repatriate businessmen for violating sanctions

North Korea declared that it would sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia, which delivered North Korean nationals accused of violating sanctions against North Korea to the United States. He warned against the United States that he would “pay a price,” and initiated a criticism war against the United States in earnest.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry announced on the 19th through the Chosun Central News Agency that in a statement titled’Injustice is beyond the strict judgment of justice’, “The Malaysian authorities sold innocent citizens as’criminals’ and finally forced them to lead the US He pointed out that he committed an unacceptable criminal act.” “We declare that we will sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia, which has committed extra-large hostilities.”Said.

The’innocent citizen’ referred to by North Korea is believed to be Moon Chul-myeong, a North Korean businessman who Malaysia recently delivered to the United States. In May 2019, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requested the delivery of recruits to Malaysia, claiming that Moon sent luxury goods such as alcohol and watches to North Korea in violation of sanctions against North Korea, and laundered money through a ghost company. In response, Malaysian authorities arrested Moon in an apartment outside Kuala Lumpur. In December of the same year, a Malaysian court approved Moon’s extradition to the United States.
Moon continued to deny the charges and requested the court to invalidate the extradition decision, but on the 9th, the Malaysian Supreme Court finally rejected Mr. Moon’s request and confirmed to surrender him to the United States. The Diplomat, an American diplomatic journal, was reported at the time. “For the first time in history, a North Korean citizen is in a position to be deported to the United States on charges of violating sanctions.”“It will be a precedent for strongly applying sanctions against illegal activities committed by North Korea in Southeast Asia and abroad,” he analyzed. It was found that Moon was actually handed over to the United States after the ruling.

In a statement that day, the North Korean Foreign Ministry claimed that the decision of the Malaysian authorities was “absurd and a complete insult.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, “Our citizens in question are workers who have been engaged in legal foreign trade activities in Singapore for many years.” In addition, he argued, “In several trials, our representatives and lawyers repeatedly demanded strongly from the Malaysian judicial authorities to present’evidence of allegations’ related to’illegal money washing’, but they have never provided smart material evidence to prove him” did.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also continued criticism by pointing the US as the “pilot behind” and “the main culprit” in this case. The delivery of their own citizens to the United States was “a direct product of the anti-Republican conspiracy collusion created by the US’s heinous hostilities and the pro-American humiliation of the Malaysian authorities.” “The United States will also pay a fair price.”Warned. In addition, he stated to the United States as “the most dominant United States of our country”, and said, “The most hostile US-Korea (North Korea-US) relationship on the planet has been technically in a state of war for over 70 years, and it has been demonstrated as an undeniable reality. Insisted.

North Korea sent a series of warning messages to the United States through talks with Labor Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong on the 16th and first vice-president Sun-hee Sun-hee of the North Korean Foreign Ministry on the 18th. After the first visit of the US Secretary of State and Defense from the 17th to the 18th, the public criticized the US. The talks by the North Korean Foreign Ministry are interpreted with the intention of continuing the criticism war against the United States, taking the cause of the unprecedented situation in which local residents were handed over from a third country to the United States due to sanctions violations. Shin Beom-cheol Director of the Center for Foreign Affairs and Security, Economic and Social Research Institute“After the inauguration of the Biden administration, North Korea has recently initiated a public opinion war with the approval of Kim Jong-un, sending messages to the United States on a case-by-case basis.“He analyzed.

In addition, it seems that the Biden administration, which values ​​alliance relations, further tightened sanctions against North Korea, indirectly throwing a message that the damage could be returned to the alliance and friendly countries. Hyeon-ik Hong Senior Member, Sejong Institute“In time for the Biden administration’s new policy toward North Korea to be completed in the coming weeks, Sending a warning message in case the United States tightens sanctions against North Korea.“He said.
In February 2017, when the Malaysian authorities arrested North Korean citizen Lee Jung-cheol as a leading suspect after the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s Lee Bok-hyung at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia, North Korea detained the Malaysian citizens of North Korea, but did not take out the Dankyo card. . However, it is analyzed that the declaration of break-up within 10 days after the decision of the Supreme Court of Malaysia was issued earlier this month was sending a message to other countries, including Southeast Asia, saying,’If I participate in the US-led sanctions against North Korea, I will not stay still.’

Reporter Park Hyun-joo [email protected]