Burglars expose N Korea bootleg business

BURGLARS in Pakistan stumbled upon a secret stash of more than £114,000 worth of black market alcohol after breaking into a North Korean diplomat’s home in Islamabad, it has emerged.

Neighbours told Reuters news agency that a group of men kicked down the door of Hyon Ki Yong’s house and spent three hours removing thousands of bottles of whisky, beer and wine.

They ran off with 200 cases of wine, 60 cartons of beer, dozens of bottles of tequila, two diamonds and $3,000 (£2,200) cash. Investigators in Pakistan, who have since recovered much of the stash, said the three burglars were police officers and had issued warrants for their arrests.

Police and witnesses said the robbers used cars and a truck to steal the alcohol. It is believed the diplomat was selling it to provide funds for the cashstarved regime in Pyongyang.

The North Korean government is facing increasingly tough United Nations-backed economic sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile development programs. Several of its embassies have been accused of engaging in illicit behaviour to generate funds.

“This North Korean was involved in liquor selling,” said a senior police official in Islamabad.

A diplomat from the North Korean embassy declined to comment.

Malik Asif, a named suspect, told Reuters he was not involved in the burglary but had gone into hiding, claiming that North Korea was running an alcohol smuggling business.

Diplomats in Islamabad have long suspected that North Koreans in Pakistan were bootlegging and that Pakistan had turned a blind eye to the practice so as not to upset the relationship between the two countries.