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"A Son of North’s Senior Official Appears to Defect to the U.S."

"A Son of North’s Senior Official Appears to Defect to the U.S."

Posted November. 04, 2004 23:04,   

한국어

Oh Se-ook, the eldest son of Oh Geuk-ryeol, 73 years old, the four-star general and the operational director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, has likely defected to the U.S., the NHK of Japan reported on November 4.

The broadcaster, citing South Korean intelligence sources, said Oh escaped the North from the port of Cheongjin in a boat late last year and defected to the U.S. via Japan.

Oh had been reported on internal affairs of the military to North’s National Defense Committee Chairman Kim Jong Il’s vanguard group as a member.

With his defection, there will likely be changes in the North’s elite group, reported the NHK.

Operational Director Oh has been responsible for the operations department of the Workers Party, which is believed to have engineered the killings of the South’s Cabinet members at the Aun San national cemetery in Myanmar and the assassination of Lee Han-young.

Oh was the commander of the Air Force in the 1960s and the commander of the joint staff in the 1980s. He grew up together with Chairman Kim and earned his deep trust, to the point that they were once known as drinking buddies. Along with Chang Seong-taek, director of the party’s Organization Bureau 1, Oh has effectively controlled the military as a major next-generation leader.

However, on top of the removal of Chang from his post, rumors of Oh’s son’s defection are raising speculation that Kim could have purged dangerous elements from his inner circle.

Meanwhile, in September, Aera, a Japanese newsweekly, published the daily minutes of Chairman Kim’s secretary. The January 27 minutes states, “At the order of Director Oh, Japan handlers will be selected from a pool of those who are unknown to the outside world.”

Hujimoto, former chef of Chairman Kim, said in his 2003 memoir, “I heard rumors claiming that a son of Oh was executed for his role in a coup attempt.”

“Children of high-ranking party officials are not allowed to join the vanguard group,” said a North Korean defector. “He is not likely a member.” Another defector who was a high ranking army officer of the North said, “I learned 10 years ago that Oh’s only son was deployed to the frontline as a regiment commander.” He continued, “If he monitored military internal affairs, he should have worked in the defense command.”



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