Australian accused of aiding N. Korea
SYDNEY — Federal police said Sunday that they had arrested an Australian man who was charged with acting as an economic agent for North Korea by trying to help the isolated country sell its missile parts and other military technology abroad.
The man, Chan Han Choi, 59, was arrested Saturday in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood, where he lives. Police accused him of violating both U.N. sanctions and Australian law by attempting to conduct trade deals on behalf of North Korea — the first time such charges have been filed in Australia.
The arrest comes as tensions in the region have risen over a series of North Korean nuclear and missile tests, which have defied international sanctions aimed at curtailing the weapons programs.
Speaking to reporters, Neil Gaughan, assistant commissioner for Australian Federal Police, said Choi was charged with trying to broker the sale of missile components, including software for the guidance of ballistic missiles, and other
unspecified North Korean military expertise to “international entities,” which he did not identify.
He also said Choi was “discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction,” in reference to the attempted sale of the missile components described by police.
Choi was a naturalized Australian citizen who had lived in the country for more than 30 years, police said. They did not elaborate, but some Australian news media reports said he was born in South Korea.
“We think he’s acting as an economic agent on behalf of North Korea,” Gaughan said at a news conference. “He’s doing it out of a patriotic purpose. I think at the end of the day, he’d sell whatever he could to make money back for the North Korean government.”
Police said evidence suggested that Choi had been in “contact with high-ranking officials in North Korea” but would not comment further.
Choi was also charged with attempting to sell North Korean coal in countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, police said, adding that there was no evidence of involvement by those countries’ governments or officials. Such sales would violate international sanctions aimed at cutting off North Korea from the global economy.
The investigation started this year after police received information from a foreign law enforcement partner about a different matter.
After months of “careful and methodical” investigation, police said, they uncovered evidence that led them to believe that Choi was working to generate income for the North Korean government from abroad as recently as this year.
If he is found guilty, Choi could face up to 10 years in prison.
“He seems to be a fellow traveler willing to take the risk to try and exploit whatever loopholes exist with surveillance and sanctions,” said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute. “It means the North Koreans are still trying to access whatever componentry they can, even in a highrisk country like Australia.”
For years, North Korea has found ways to skirt sanctions to obtain technology and earn hard currency by selling not just weapons but also counterfeit money and drugs.
North Korea no longer has an embassy in Australia in part because of one such moneymaking mission gone wrong: In 2003, the Pong Su, a North Korean cargo ship that ran aground on an Australian beach, was found to be filled with about 275 pounds of heroin. The crew was arrested and later deported, and the North Korean Embassy closed five years later.
When North Korea asked for it to be reopened in 2013, Australia refused.
Gaughan, the police official, called Choi’s arrest a sign of Australia’s commitment to upholding international sanctions on North Korea.
“This investigation shows that the United Nations and Australian sanctions will be rigorously enforced in Australia,” he said.