A high-level North Korean official engaged in raising secret funds for Kim Jong Il is hiding in the United States after requesting political asylum there, South Korean media reports said Saturday. Kil Jae Gyong, 69, vice director of Kim's secretariat, sought asylum to avoid punishment for a failed drug trafficking attempt. "Kil and two of his assistants have recently asked Washington to allow them political asylum and they are in a safehouse in the United States or a place controlled by the United States," the source was quoted as saying.
| It was either that, or the one-round splitting headache... |
Analysts said Kil's defection and the information he may reveal could trigger tough U.S. measures to crack down on North Korea's narcotics trafficking, which earns hard currency for the communist regime. Kil, one of Kim's closest aides, is expected to give U.S. intelligence officials an unprecedented insight into the channels of North Korea's drug smuggling and counterfeiting of U.S. currency. Kil has been involved in raising secret funds for Kim since the early 1990s, mainly through drug smuggling and making fake U.S. dollars, intelligence officials said. In 1976, as ambassador to Sweden, Kil was expelled on suspicion of drug trafficking. He was expelled from Russia in 1998 when he was caught trying to use counterfeit U.S. notes with a face value of $30,000.
| I think he was thrown out of Paraguay for holding up a liquor store... |
A North Korean cargo ship with its crew of 26 have been held in Australia since April 20 on charges of smuggling 110 pounds of pure heroin worth $46 million. The Australian government has said an official of the North Korean regime had been aboard the state-run freighter, Pong Su. It was not immediately clear whether the official was Kil, but diplomatic sources said he had masterminded the drug trafficking attempt.
"If I defect, will you take the cuffs off me?"
"We'll think about it."
"You won't send me back to Paraguay, will you?" |
Kil's defection came amid media reports that Kyong Won Ha, who has been described as the father of North Korea's nuclear program, has recently defected to the United States. Up to 20 North Korean nuclear scientists and military officers have also reportedly sought asylum.
| Getting crowded out here, isn't it? |
A 45-year-old son of Yom Ki Su, a high-level official of the North's ruling Workers' Party in charge of personnel administration, also recently defected during an official trip to a third country, Yonhap said.
| That's gotta be hard on old Pop... |
|