Ex-N. Korean Soldiers to Form Anti-P’yang Group

North Korean defectors in South Korea will form a coalition to support anti-Pyongyang activities in conjunction with military officials in the North opposed to the communist regime

The coalition plans to release at its inaugural ceremony Thursday the content of a phone conversation that demonstrates its links with ranking officials in the North Korean People’s Army.

The North Korean People’s Liberation Front, which comprises North Korean defectors who served in the Stalinist country’s military, said Sunday that it will hold the coalition’s first ceremony Thursday in front of the Korea Alliance of Progressive Movements headquarters in Seoul’s western district of Yeongdeungpo.

The coalition is chaired by Kim Sung-min, the head of Free North Korea Radio and a former captain in the North Korean military. More than 200 defectors who were in the North’s military have joined the group.

The coalition says it is different from other defector groups because it will conduct an anti-Pyongyang campaign in collaboration with active military officials in the North who oppose North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

The group released its planned activities on its newly launched Web site. They include transforming the North Korean military into the driving force for overhauling the communist regime; conduct activities to disrupt dictatorial rule by collaborating with anti-Pyongyang forces in the North; staging campaigns to topple the regime including Kim, his son and dictatorial leadership; gathering intelligence on the North Korean military; expose the true face of Kim’s military dictatorship; eradicate pro-Pyongyang activities in South Korea; and form a worldwide coalition with leaders and groups opposed to North Korea.

A former officer for the North’s national intelligence agency who is preparing for the coalition’s launch told The Dong-A Ilbo Saturday, “Many North Korean defectors’ groups have been formed but they only raise issue over the North’s human rights. None have directly taken action.”

“Our coalition will join forces with the North Korean people and military to support activities to topple the North’s dictatorship.”

He added, “I cannot disclose specific plans on our activities, but we will be able to publicize achievements from activities by our organizations in the North sooner or later.”

The defector also spoke of a phone conversation he held in late August with a ranking military officer in the North who shares the coalition’s mission and goals.

The North Korean officer told the coalition over the phone, “After losing everything to Kim Jong Il, I started these activities thinking that I won`t be trampled to death at the last moment,” adding, “To stage psychological warfare with Kim Jong Il and devise plots, we have to spread news piece by piece as it develops in the form of live broadcasts.”

The coalition will release the content of the phone dialogue in its inaugural ceremony Thursday. A source said, “The telephone call is evidence that we are associated with ranking officials in the North.”

Experts showed a mixed response to the coalition’s plan. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies professor Namkoong Young said, “North Korean defectors have often had actual relationships with people in the North, and hence their activities could potentially have a considerable impact.”

In contrast, Dongguk University professor Kim Yong-hyun said, “I doubt whether anti-government activities are possible in the North considering the character of the Pyongyang regime, which is highly closed and in which information is strictly controlled.”

“Even if (the coalition’s) activities generate tangible achievements, they will unlikely have a positive impact on inter-Korean relations.”

pjw@donga.com