Korean American pastor admits to spying for US while in North Korea

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Kim Dong-chul returns to the US as First Lady Melania Trump watches his response.

ASAM NEWS

US citizen Kim Dong-chul, whose release from North Korean prison was secured by Trump last year, said he had been spying for Seoul and Washington, NK News reported on Monday.

The Korean American pastor was arrested in the northeastern city of Rason in October 2015. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor on charges of espionage and subversive acts against Pyongyang, according to The Korea Herald.

The North Korean state media at the time said Kim confessed to collecting Workers’ Party, government, and military secrets, and handing them over to South Korean intelligence.

Kim told NK News that what he said during the press conference was mostly true; he claims he had also cooperated with the US Central Intelligence Agency to procure “very significant” information on issues of interest to US intelligence.

Kim was one of three US citizens released in a 2018 amnesty secured in negotiations between the Trump administration and Kim Jong Un’s regime, a month ahead of the first summit between the two leaders in June last year, according to Newsweek.

“I filmed footage with a watch (equipped with a camera) and used electromagnetic wave wiretapping equipment,” he said earlier this month, according to NK News.

He claims US intelligence asked him to work as an “antenna” in North Korea and provide detailed information on the North Korean military and nuclear program, tasking him with recruiting double agents across the nation. He said he spied for the CIA for about six years before he was caught and sent to a labor camp.

“The CIA detected a suspicious vessel at the Rajin port through satellite imagery … and asked me to take very close-up photos of it and figured out what it was being used for … I delivered that information just before (my arrest).”

North Korean authorities said Kim was found with a USB stick containing military and nuclear secrets when he was detained in Rason, according to BBC News.

“I became a traitor overnight and was locked up in a forced labor camp,” said Kim. “I hit rock bottom.”

Kim said that in prison he was subjected to beatings by guards and other forms of torture that left parts of his body paralyzed. He also said he made a few attempts to commit suicide. “I could not die,” he recalled.

NK News said the US State Department, the CIA, and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service did not respond to requests for comments in response to Kim’s statements.

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2018 Winter Olympics: Californian skating for South Korea averts wardrobe malfunction

Despite a wardrobe malfunction, the South Korean team continued with their routine.

YURA MIN almost had a Janet Jackson moment during her performance at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Skating for Team South Korea, one of clasps that secured her costume came undone in the middle of her performance with partner, another American, Alexander Gamelin. Both skaters have dual citizenships.

"Five seconds into the routine, my hook came undone," Min said, via the Detroit Free Press. "I was like, ‘Oh no!’ If that comes undone, the whole thing could just pop off. I was terrified the entire program."

"I didn’t stop," Min said. "I went from the beginning to the end. I didn’t stop because you get a deduction if you stop in the middle of a program. In my head, I was thinking, ‘Is it better to stop and fix it and get the deduction or keep going?’

"The fans kept cheering. Obviously, this is my first Olympics. I don’t want to let loose. I was terrified. I tried my best to keep it together." In more ways than one.

Americans Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin competed for South Korea.

Both of Min’s parents emigrated from South Korea before she was born in Torrance, Calif. “I was American when I went to school but I was raised in a very Korean household,” Min said. “My mom always raised me, like, ‘You are Korean. You have to learn Korean and know Korean culture.

She managed to keep her outfit in place to finish the pair's routine. At one point, she had to stop her twizzle (dual twirls) to pull up her top and that may have affected the final score. The American South Koreans finished ninth out of the 10 teams.

The pair will return in the dance skating competition and you can bet there will be extra clasps on Min's costume.

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South Korean is the newest SF Giants hero

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Mark Kim, left, translates for Jae-gyun Hwang, center, as the South Korean ball players was interviewed after his American debut with the San Francisco Giants.

THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS season has not had a lot to cheer about in this disappointing season. For help to put some pop in its lackluster offense, they turned to South Korea.

This winter they signed third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang , a perennial all-star with the Lotte Giants in the South Korean professional baseball league.

Wednesday (June 28) he started at third base at AT&T Park becoming the first South Korean to play for the San Francisco franchise. For Hwang, it was a dream come true. His first hit in the big leagues was a no-doubt home run that proved to be the winning run over the Colorado Rockies.

“I’ve given up a lot back home, whether that’s money, being away from family, my career, everything, just to be here,” Hwang told the media through Korean interpreter Mark Kim. “The only reason I did that was because I wanted to realize my childhood dream of playing a game in the big leagues. This opportunity came almost unexpectedly and so suddenly. I’m really hoping to carry this excitement over to the field and capitalize on this opportunity.”

Following a strong Spring Training – where he batted .333 with five home runs to earn the Barney Nugent Award for the most impressive first-timer in camp – Hwang carried his success into Triple-A Sacramento where he hit seven homers and acquainted himself with the American strike zone, which is lower and sometimes wider than he he's used to in 10 years as a Korean professional.

After the game, Hwang's teammates gave him a beer shower, something he's never experienced. He's also added a spark to the team, something that's been missing this year. “They were so excited for him and happy for him,” said Giant's manager Bruce Bochy. “They all know what he’s been through. He’s given up baseball in Korea to play here and he reaches his dream and hits a homer. It’s a special moment. These are moments you love.”

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TGIF FEATURE:BBC interview with Korea expert goes viral

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Jung-a Kim and Robert E. Kelly with their daughter Marion during a more controlled photograph.

IT WAS supposed to be a very serious interview about a very serious topic, but instead, it unintentionally became one of the funniest videos of this young year.

This morning (March 10) Robert E. Kelly, a political-science professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, was at his home in South Korea being interviewed by the BBC via Skype as an expert to discuss the South Korea impeachment scandal.

As the interview began, his daughter Marion opened the door behind him and merrily strode in. She was followed by her younger brother James, who glided in in his walker. Then Kelly's wife, Jung-a Kim, dashed into the room, desperately trying to hustle the children out of the room.

As his wife awkwardly closed the door, the older child can be hear shouting, "Oww, may!"

While all this was going on, Kelly kept his professional composure and maintained eye contact with the computer screen with a slight smile appearing as he apologized for the interruption.

After the interview, the professor was asked permission to use the video on social media. “Is this kinda thing that goes ‘viral’ and gets weird?” responded Kelly.

It quickly went viral. By day's end, the video had over 4 million views on YouTube alone. Viewers called it “magical TV,” “one of the funniest things I've seen” and “TV gold.”

The minute-long video also raised other discussion points, from the perils of live TV, working from home, parenting and the issue of casual racism when so many reports assumed that Kelly's Korean wife was assumed to be the nanny.