A shadowy group committed to overthrowing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed responsibility yesterday for a raid on the reclusive nation’s embassy in Madrid last month, saying it shared “information of enormous potential value” with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The incident had been shrouded in mystery, but a dissident organisation known as the Cheollima Civil Defense (CCD) said yesterday it had orchestrated the raid to end illicit activities rampant in North Korea’s foreign missions.
The claim came after a Spanish court named Adrian Hong Chang, of Mexican nationality, as being the leader of the group, the first official account of the incident, which came days before the summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi.
Previous media reports said a group of men burst into the diplomatic mission and roughed up employees before making off with documents and computers. According to investigating judge Jose de la Mata, two of the assailants took the embassy’s commercial attache to an underground room and urged him to defect, which he refused.
CCD denied using any violence, saying in a statement on its website: “We were invited into the embassy, and contrary to reports, no one was gagged or beaten. “Out of respect for the host nation of Spain, no weapons were used.