hankyoreh

The waitresses of Ryugyong restaurant who were allegedly transported to South Korea against their will. (Hankyoreh archives)

The Republic of Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) was involved in the early stages of the process as the manager and 12 female employees of the North Korean restaurant Ryugyong in Ningbo, China, departed the restaurant and arrived in South Korea in a mass defection in Apr. 2016, sources reported.

The revelation comes amid growing suspicions that the defection was orchestrated by intelligence organizations during the Park Geun-hye administration (2013–16). With previous allegations of involvement in the case focusing solely on the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the news is expected to lead to louder calls for an investigation into possible involvement at the administration level.

Multiple sources acquainted with the details of the case said they were aware of support and involvement from the KDIC in addition to the NIS during the process of Ryugyong manager Heo Kang-il and the 12 female employers’ departure from the restaurant and travel to nearby Shanghai. Sources also said the NIS had apparently been involved and provided support as the 13 defectors traveled from Shanghai to Malaysia before moving on to South Korea. In effect, the KDIC carried out the practical work on the ground while the NIS was responsible for the final details and “cleanup,” sources said.

The KDIC is an organization under the Ministry of National Defense’s Defense Intelligence Agency. Like the NIS, it officially dispatches agents overseas, including so-called “black” (secret) agents. Unlike the NIS, it is reported to be involved chiefly in activities related to North Korea intelligence.

The Moon Jae-in administration has been extremely guarded in its response to the new allegations of KDIC involvement in the Ryugyong employees’ mass defection.

In a briefing on July 17, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo said the ministry “has nothing to comment for the time being.” She also advised that questions be directed to “the Ministry of Unification, which is the ministry responsible for North Korean defector issues.”

A Ministry of Unification official was similarly tight-lipped, stating that they had “nothing to confirm.” The reticence was seen as a response to internal guidelines insisting on a “neither confirm nor deny” approach and avoiding specifics in light of the issue’s sensitivity.

Signs of the administration’s consternation with the growing allegations were apparent. To begin with, the issue is not one in which an investigation can be expected to produce a “right answer.” In addition to issues concerning the Park administration, the matter has potential ramifications for relations between South and North Korean authorities after two recent summits – and most of all for the human rights and lives of the 12 waitresses in South Korea and their family members back in the North.

“The most important things here are the human rights of the employees [and their family members] and their choice,” said one figure acquainted with the details of the case.

“This is an area where South Korean society will need to exercise great wisdom,” the figure commented.

In a July 10 press conference, UN special rapporteur on North Korean human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana recommended that the South Korean government conduct a “thorough and independent” probe and assign responsibility, but also stressed the “need to respect [the restaurant workers’] rights as victims.” He also said he thought it appropriate to resolve the issue through ongoing inter-Korean dialogue.

In a May 19 statement credited to a spokesperson for the DPRK Red Cross central committee and commentaries published by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea has characterized the case as a “crime of group enticement and abduction.” But the matter has reportedly not yet been raised as a serious concern at official talks between South and North Korean authorities, including high-level inter-Korean talks or Red Cross talks.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]