N. Korean spies I met

The Korea Society for the Advancement of the Machinery Industry organized an overseas sales mission years ago. A team, composed of 12 machinery specialists, was dispatched to seven European and African countries. They were all experts in the field of machinery engineering and well-versed in English. I was responsible for the team’s public relations.

After completing sales pitches in Europe, we arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. In the arrival lobby, two men in black suits advanced toward me and greeted me, “Comrade, how nice to see you!” in Korean. In Seoul, we were warned of possible encounters with North Korean agents. “How are you doing, comrade?” I replied in English, hoping my English would discourage the North Koreans.

Then one of them started their usual propaganda and said how pleased he was to meet with fellow countrymen in English. It was accented, stiff but a fine British English. I had known that the Northerners loathe English as an enemy language and were reluctant to learn it.

Then it happened in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). I was by chance invited by then President Mobutu Sese Seco to conduct a feasibility study for construction projects programmed by European financiers in Brussels. At the lobby of the Inter-Continental Hotel, two men stood in front of me and said, “Greetings, comrade, welcome to Kinshasa!” in Korean as if it were their own country.

I was pre-warned by our ambassador that the North Korean embassy staff in Kinshasa are highly aggressive as they have their military advisory group to train Zairean soldiers, and do not hesitate to kidnap South Korean businessmen. I was alone, so simply replied, “I’ve no business with you,” in French to discourage them. “We are the same brethren why can’t we have some drinks together, southern comrade?” one said in fluent French, far better than mine. Actually, I had to practice my French with the cabin crew on my way. I shouldn’t be conceited, I reflected with a feeling of shame.

They were specially trained spies and their fluency in foreign languages does not represent the competence of that of the general public. The commoners in the North do not learn English like we do in the South. The Pyongyang Times, a weekly tabloid, is the only English and French language newspaper printed in the North.

Many venture-minded investors worldwide seem to be waiting for the removal of the barbed wire from the DMZ. At least one of them had already contacted me, a few years ago, to check if I could organize an engineering team familiar with U.S. standards and specifications. That American organization wanted to utilize English-speaking South Korean engineers in their advancement into the virgin soil yet unspoiled by the Chinese and Russians.