N. Korean arms link in KL
Pyongyang’s spy agency has military equipment scheme here, says UN
KUALA LUMPUR: In Brickfields’ “Little India”, behind an unmarked door on the second floor of a rundown building, a military equipment company called Glocom says it has its office.
Glocom is a front company run by North Korean intelligence agents that sells battlefield radio equipment in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a UN report submitted to the Security Council seen by Reuters.
Reuters found that Glocom advertises over 30 radio systems for “military and paramilitary” organisations on its Malaysian website, glocom.com.my.
Glocom’s Malaysian website, which was taken down late last year, listed the Little India address in its contacts section.
No one answers the door and the mailbox outside is stuffed with unopened letters.
In fact, no company by that name exists in Malaysia.
But two Malaysian companies controlled by North Korean shareholders and directors registered Glocom’s website in 2009, according to website and company registration documents.
And it does have a business, the unreleased UN report states.
Last July, an air shipment of North Korean military communications equipment, sent from China and bound for Eritrea, was intercepted in an unnamed country.
The seized equipment included 45 boxes of battlefield radios and accessories labelled “Glocom”, short for Global Communications Co.
Glocom is controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North Korean intelligence agen- cy tasked with overseas operations and weapons procurement, the report says, citing undisclosed information it obtained.
Glocom is operated by the Pyongyang branch of a Singaporebased company called Pan Systems, the UN report says, citing an invoice and other information it obtained.
Louis Low, managing director of Pan Systems in Singapore, said his company used to have an office in Pyongyang from 1996 but officially ended relations with North Korea in 2010 and was no longer in control of any business there.
Pan Systems Pyongyang utilised bank accounts, front companies and agents mostly based in China and Malaysia to buy components and sell completed radio systems, the UN report says. One of the directors of Pan Systems Pyongyang is Ryang Su-nyo, who frequently travelled to Singapore and Malaysia to meet with Pan Systems representatives, the UN report says. On one such trip in February 2014, she and two other North Koreans were detained in Malaysia for attempting to smuggle US$450,000 (RM2.2mil) through Customs at Kuala Lumpur’s budget airport terminal, sources said. The North Korean trio told Malaysian authorities they all worked for Pan Systems and the cash belonged to the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, according to the sources.
The Malaysian Attorney-General decided not to press charges because of insufficient evidence.
A week later, the trio was allowed to travel, and the North Korean Embassy claimed the cash, the sources said.
All three had passports assigned to government officials, the sources said. — Reuters