November 12, 2021

Agent Chrysanthemum: North Korean Spy Indicted for Coercing Defectors to Return ‘Home’

South Korean media recently disclosed that a female North Korean spy has been operating inside South Korea for roughly three years, coercing defectors to return “home” to support the regime’s political agenda. This raises significant national security concerns for South Korea, as well as the North Korean defector community, as Pyongyang continues to target dissidents living abroad despite participating in diplomatic summits with both Seoul and Washington.

Coercing, and even abducting, defectors is a common tactic for authoritarian regimes to discourage defection as it intensifies the climate of fear often surrounding those wishing to defect.

According to South Korean media, she officially started working as an undercover agent in 2016 under the code name “Chrysanthemum” (국화 in Korean) and then “defected” to South Korea two years later. She confessed to working for the North’s Ministry of State Security to persuade defectors to return to North Korea during a court hearing in Suwon, South Korea. The North’s Ministry of State Security first approached her in 2014 after learning of her experience acting as a money broker between defectors and their families. One North Korean defector reportedly returned to the North in September 2016 following her persuasion operation and began criticizing South Korea through interviews on state-sponsored media outlets.

Read the full article from The Diplomat.

  • Commentary
    • October 9, 2024
    Sharper: Allies and Partners

    Amid intensifying geopolitical challenges, the United States is finding new ways to address security issues by cultivating and strengthening alliances and partnerships. How ca...

    By Gwendolyn Nowaczyk & Charles Horn

  • Podcast
    • October 7, 2024
    Why Chinese EVs Are a Cyber Risk

    Electric vehicles are becoming more popular and if you can’t afford a Tesla, a cheaper Chinese made car could be the answer. But in the United States, the Biden administration...

    By Adam Tong

  • Podcast
    • October 3, 2024
    Europe’s Take on Economic Security with EU Ambassador to the U.S. Jovita Neliupšienė

    Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, the European Union's Ambassador to the United States, joins Emily and Geoff for a wide-ranging conversation on Europe's growing role as a econom...

    By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz

  • Video
    • October 2, 2024
    Biden Urges Israel Not to Attack Iran Nuclear Sites

    Rachel Ziemba joins Bloomberg Television to discuss oil rising for a third day as traders watch for supply risks in the Middle East. Watch the full episode from Bloomberg Tel...

    By Rachel Ziemba

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia