Pastor found dead near Chinese-Korean border killed by North Korean agents?

CB Condez Wednesday, May 04, 2016

A Chinese pastor, Korean by ethnicity, who was found dead in China's Jilin province is speculated to have been killed by North Korean agents.

A North Korean woman carries water she collected from the Yalu River in the North Korean city of Hyesan, which borders China's Changbai county, April 6, 2009. | REUTERS/REINHARD KRAUSE/FILES

According to Yonhap News, the body of the man, identified only by his last name Han, was found on the evening of Saturday near the Chinese-Korean border in the mountains in Changbai county.

The pastor, who worked at a Changbai church, had reportedly been helping North Korean defectors since 1993. In its report, UPI said that he had been a target of previous threats from the North. Three agents, according to activists in Seoul, South Korea, said that the North sent three agents to Jilin, and after killing the pastor, they returned to their country.

"A man who appeared to be a North Korean customs official, killed the pastor and took away his belongings," a source is quoted by Korea Times as saying.

A source told the activist's representative, Choe Seong-yong, that the pastor could have been killed by agents because he refused to go to the North. Moreover, "many" North Korean agents are said to have been operating in the border region in secret.

Chinese authorities are reportedly investigating what could possibly be a murder case, although they have not given any comment about the speculated involvement of agents from North Korea.

"I have no relevant information on that," China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, as quoted by Yonhap News.

However, UPI quotes the activist group as saying, "The Chinese authorities are not regarding this case as a mere homicide and are undertaking the investigation with considerable seriousness."

A woman wearing traditional costume waits for customers behind the doors of a North Korean restaurant in Beijing, China, April 12, 2016. | REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

It seems that the North is addressing the issue of defection. In April, 13 restaurant workers reportedly defected to the South. In retaliation, said the South China Post, the North Korean government announced that they would kidnap 120 people from the South, including expatriates, soldiers and officials, in exchange for the 13 defectors.

"We are closely watching out for multiple possibilities, including abduction or terrorism ... by the North," said Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee. "We are trying to ensure the safety of our nationals."