Crime by North Korean?

           Recently, as the tensions with North Korea arose, a case of a missionary from South Korea believed to be killed by a North Korean agent became an issue.

           Chang-hwan Kim was 46 years old father of two who had been working as a missionary, helping North Korean defectors escape across the border and providing food to North Korea’s malnourished children.  He established a food company and factory in Dandong, the Chinese province nearest to North Korea, and delivered tofu, noodles, bread, baby milk, and Gospel.  North Korea was threatened by his actions and involvement with North Korean defectors and put him at the top of their ‘terrorist list.’ He told his wife that he was meeting a North Korean defector but after short time later, one of his colleagues called and announced a bad news.  By the time she got to the hospital, he was dead. It was a dangerous job and North Korean severely dealt with people who helped North Korean defects for a long time but they were usually sent back to their country and never are allowed to return or visit.

           What’s interesting is that hospital officials said Chang-hwan Kim committed suicide by swallowing pesticides.  Believing this was done by North Korean agent, his wife demanded the Chinese government conduct an autopsy but the report came back saying there was no poison in his system.  Fearful of a cover-up, she sent to the morgue before his body was cremated and collected samples of his blood on a glove and brought it to South Korea.  The South Korean government report on the blood sample reviewed by CNN, revealed levels of poison high enough to kill a person instantly.

In North Korean government’s perspective, unless permitted by them, helping North Korean defectors and having whatsoever contacts with North Korean is strictly against the rule; this doesn’t give an excuse or a permission of killing a man.  It’s also interesting to see how much a political crime can influence in so many aspects.  Tensions between countries have changed the medical report from murder to suicide.

Eun Jee Lee

March 9, 2013, 11:59pm

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/04/world/asia/south-korea-missionary-death/index.html?hpt=wo_bn4