The North Korean, identified only as Mr. Yang, disappeared from Nepal a few days before the apprehension of his South Korean acquaintances. [break]
Officials involved in investigations but not authorized to speak about the matter said that South Korean nationals Choiw Onsop and Sun Kahadal were arrested following continuous pressure by North Korean embassy officials in Kathmandu.
Police have remanded the two South Koreans on a public offence charge as there was no immediate evidence to book them for kidnapping as demanded by the North Korean officials.
Investigative officials said the North Korean officials have been pressing them to book the two detainees for kidnapping, but they have not registered a formal complaint so far. "I foresee them possibly making a direct complaint demanding prosecution of the South Korean nationals on a kidnapping charge," a high-ranking police official told Republica on condition of anonymity.
Officials say investigations so far do not indicate that the South Koreans are involved in kidnapping the North Korean.
Personal details about the North Korean remain murky. He is not an official at the North Korean embassy in Kathmandu but this, then, raises serious questions about how he came to be in Nepal given that the North Korean regime does not allow its citizens to travel abroad freely. Some evidence indicates that he has been in Nepal for more than a month and was in touch with the South Koreans.
All this opens up another possibility, argue the officials; the North Korean could be a spy and he has defected from the North Korean regime and slipped into India. The vehemence with which North Korean officials have pressured police to prosecute the South Koreans indicates either that Mr. Yang has really been harmed by the South Koreans or he has defected.
Another official very familiar with the case said, "What we know so far is that Mr. Yang has already reached Delhi and met a certain Paul." But he refused to divulge details.
Police now seem more or less convinced that this is a political rather than a criminal case. "We are sure the detainees know much about Mr. Yang´s moves but it is very difficult to ascertain their role in helping him slip away," officials said.
A family member of Sun Kahadal, requesting that her name and relation to him be concealed for fear of untoward developments as she hopes he will be released soon, claimed that there was no evidence to drag the case on.
“There is a big game afoot,” she said. “I will divulge details after their release.”
Both South Korean nationals are known to have been living in Nepal with their Nepali wives. The detained South Koreans prefered not to speak when Republica approached them at Hanumandhoka, where they are in custody.
Sun was arrested from Hetauda together with a Nepali, Dal Bahadur Kuruwar, a few days ago. Kuruwar told Republica in a brief interview that he met Sun last month and he only knew him as a friend who deals in soya sauce and vinegar.
SP Ramesh Kharel, chief of Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK), said that the South Koreans were only booked on a public offence charge.
Sun is known to have claimed to be a microbiologist and an independent practitioner of herbal medicine. While Republica was interviewing his relative, Sun said “I love living with nature”, though he had initially refused to speak. Police had arrested Choiw in the capital.
Related story
SKoreans learn to live with NKorean war threats
-1768551720.webp)
