It was a brutal and enigmatic attack that has now become even more enigmatic. On February 22, a few days before the summit talks between the US and
North Korea began in Hanoi, an unknown group raided the North Korean embassy in Madrid. The allegedly ten intruders were extremely rabid, handcuffed and beat eight North Korean embassy officials and took away their computers and cell phones.
A woman was able to free herself and flee to the neighbors. When the alarmed police arrived, an Asian-looking man assured them that everything was alright. Shortly thereafter, the intruders fled with computers, smartphones and documents in two cars. The newspaper El Pais reported that the Spanish police have linked the CIA to the robbery. But now unknown sources of the „Washington Post“ have said that a previously unknown opposition group of exiled North Koreans called „Cheollima Civil Defense“ should be behind the attack.
A Twitter account called „Cheollima Civil Defense“ shared the Washington Post article on the „group in the shadows“ and commented, „We are stepping out of the shadows.“ On their amateurishly crafted website are the group’s motives and goals:
„Down with the reign of the Kim family! We stand up for our people! Long live the Free Joseon!“
The group publishes a video on which a man allegedly destroys images of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in North Korea – a crime unthinkable in North Korea that can end in a forced labor camp.
At the same time, the group calls on journalists to keep their identity a secret, otherwise they might fall prey to North Korean intelligence. „Some of us have already escaped attacks on our lives and those of our families,“ it is said that others have not been so lucky. That sounds like a group of North Koreans in exile. Or for something completely different.
~An internal power struggle in North Korea could also be the cause~
North Korea expert Andrei Lankow believes it may be possible that the group was used or even advanced by a foreign intelligence agency in a post for „NK News“. Such a difficult and time-consuming action requires appropriate secret service know-how and money. Most likely, the North Korean specialist appears to be behind the CIA. The flawed Korean on the website of the „Cheollima Civil Defense“ indicates that the text could be written by a non-Korean. The attack could also have served to provide information about former North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyok Chol, who was a key figure in the disarmament talks.
The South Korean secret service could also be considered. However, it seems unlikely that he will sabotage the approach of his President Moon Jae-in. „The attack could also have been initiated by a faction within the North Korean elite,“ speculates North Korean expert Andrei Lankov. He now insists that the investigation of the Spanish police bring a little more light into the darkness.
