The fear of being kidnapped by North Korean agents looms over South Koreans abroad, after the repressive regime's leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered retaliation against the South for "abducting" his people.
It is believed that up to 300 security and intelligence agents from Pyongyang have been sent to China after Seoul refused to repatriate the 13 North Koreans who defected to South Korea en masse in early April.
Citing their relatively privileged backgrounds, North Korea has claimed that the defectors, who worked at its state-run restaurant in China, had no reason to abandon their nation.
The regime has argued that Seoul's intelligence agency abducted the 13 restaurant employees, including 12 young waitresses, after luring a male manager to join the scheme.
It is seen that Kim has ordered agents to kidnap South Koreans in other countries and use them as pawns in exchange for the 13 North Korean defectors and to prevent his people from being agitated further.
"These 300 agents are the largest group ever tasked with kidnapping exclusively," a source familiar with North Korea told Daily NK, a Seoul-based website specializing in providing Pyongyang-related news. "They've been told to abduct many more South Koreans than the 13 North Koreans who recently defected."
The anonymous source said the agents are from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), both of which report directly to Kim. The MSS is Pyongyang's autonomous police agency, while the RGB is responsible for clandestine operations.
"The agents are eager to fulfill their duty, and they keep track of flight schedules from Seoul to Dandong, Shenyang, Yanji and other Chinese cities for possible targets," the source said.
The tense diplomatic climate on the Korean Peninsula has increased the South Korean public's safety concerns about traveling to other countries, and the suspected murder of Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol by North Korean authorities only served to exacerbate those concerns. Han, who helped North Korean defectors, was found dead on April 30 in Changbai, near the Chinese-North Korean border.
The confirmation of six missing South Koreans by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week did not reassure the public.
The six have been reported missing by the South Korean consulate in Shenyang this year. The ministry said it "does not have the slightest clue" about the whereabouts of two in particular. Identified only as Kim and Joo, the two, according to sources, are North Korean defectors and have been affiliated with supporting underground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
ground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
Tips for avoiding abduction
In a meeting with some 10 major travel agencies in Seoul this week, the foreign ministry and affiliated ministries urged them to be prudent when selling tours to attractions near the Chinese-North Korean border. According to the government, such attractions are popular among South Koreans because many of them are related to Korean history, such as the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (B.C. 37- A.D. 668), and have abundant relics.
"We are asking you to refrain from selling tours to those regions, given the high risks of terrorist attacks and kidnapping there," Deputy Foreign Minister for Overseas Koreans Han Dong-man said.
Some defectors in Seoul echoed the government's view.
"People should be extra careful when traveling to China and Russia because both face North Korea via land routes, which make it easier for North Korean agents to abduct targets and transport them to North Korea," said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.
Park Sang-hak, a defector-turned-activist, said: "Using airplanes and ships to reach North Korea requires passports, so it would be preferable for the agents to kidnap South Koreans, especially missionaries and journalists, from the Chinese border and from Russia."
To help ensure their safety, the government advised South Koreans not to travel alone, not to go outside at night and to be cautious of strangers who approach them.
Park also said South Koreans should avoid passing by North Korean embassies and consulates.
Kang Cheol-hwan, a defector who runs the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul, warned against staying at hotels where North Koreans are known to stay. He said North Korea has invested in two Chinese hotels ― Ryugyong Hotel in Yanji and Chilbosan Hotel in Shenyang ― to expand its intelligence operations in China.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another defector advised against eating at a chain of Chinese restaurants operated by North Korea. The cash-strapped regime ran an estimated 130 eateries in 12 countries before the U.N. Security Council imposed its harshest sanctions on March 2. The countries included mostly former communist states such as China, Russia, Cambodia and Laos, but also the Netherlands.
"Never forget that security agents are behind the pretty waitresses," the defectors said.
Others speculated that North Korea may have bribed certain Korean-Chinese people running restaurants in China to offer South Korean and other customers food and drinks laced with anesthetics and help kidnap them.
It is believed that up to 300 security and intelligence agents from Pyongyang have been sent to China after Seoul refused to repatriate the 13 North Koreans who defected to South Korea en masse in early April.
Citing their relatively privileged backgrounds, North Korea has claimed that the defectors, who worked at its state-run restaurant in China, had no reason to abandon their nation.
The regime has argued that Seoul's intelligence agency abducted the 13 restaurant employees, including 12 young waitresses, after luring a male manager to join the scheme.
It is seen that Kim has ordered agents to kidnap South Koreans in other countries and use them as pawns in exchange for the 13 North Korean defectors and to prevent his people from being agitated further.
"These 300 agents are the largest group ever tasked with kidnapping exclusively," a source familiar with North Korea told Daily NK, a Seoul-based website specializing in providing Pyongyang-related news. "They've been told to abduct many more South Koreans than the 13 North Koreans who recently defected."
The anonymous source said the agents are from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), both of which report directly to Kim. The MSS is Pyongyang's autonomous police agency, while the RGB is responsible for clandestine operations.
"The agents are eager to fulfill their duty, and they keep track of flight schedules from Seoul to Dandong, Shenyang, Yanji and other Chinese cities for possible targets," the source said.
The tense diplomatic climate on the Korean Peninsula has increased the South Korean public's safety concerns about traveling to other countries, and the suspected murder of Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol by North Korean authorities only served to exacerbate those concerns. Han, who helped North Korean defectors, was found dead on April 30 in Changbai, near the Chinese-North Korean border.
The confirmation of six missing South Koreans by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week did not reassure the public.
The six have been reported missing by the South Korean consulate in Shenyang this year. The ministry said it "does not have the slightest clue" about the whereabouts of two in particular. Identified only as Kim and Joo, the two, according to sources, are North Korean defectors and have been affiliated with supporting underground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
ground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
Tips for avoiding abduction
In a meeting with some 10 major travel agencies in Seoul this week, the foreign ministry and affiliated ministries urged them to be prudent when selling tours to attractions near the Chinese-North Korean border. According to the government, such attractions are popular among South Koreans because many of them are related to Korean history, such as the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (B.C. 37- A.D. 668), and have abundant relics.
"We are asking you to refrain from selling tours to those regions, given the high risks of terrorist attacks and kidnapping there," Deputy Foreign Minister for Overseas Koreans Han Dong-man said.
Some defectors in Seoul echoed the government's view.
"People should be extra careful when traveling to China and Russia because both face North Korea via land routes, which make it easier for North Korean agents to abduct targets and transport them to North Korea," said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.
Park Sang-hak, a defector-turned-activist, said: "Using airplanes and ships to reach North Korea requires passports, so it would be preferable for the agents to kidnap South Koreans, especially missionaries and journalists, from the Chinese border and from Russia."
To help ensure their safety, the government advised South Koreans not to travel alone, not to go outside at night and to be cautious of strangers who approach them.
Park also said South Koreans should avoid passing by North Korean embassies and consulates.
Kang Cheol-hwan, a defector who runs the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul, warned against staying at hotels where North Koreans are known to stay. He said North Korea has invested in two Chinese hotels ― Ryugyong Hotel in Yanji and Chilbosan Hotel in Shenyang ― to expand its intelligence operations in China.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another defector advised against eating at a chain of Chinese restaurants operated by North Korea. The cash-strapped regime ran an estimated 130 eateries in 12 countries before the U.N. Security Council imposed its harshest sanctions on March 2. The countries included mostly former communist states such as China, Russia, Cambodia and Laos, but also the Netherlands.
"Never forget that security agents are behind the pretty waitresses," the defectors said.
Others speculated that North Korea may have bribed certain Korean-Chinese people running restaurants in China to offer South Korean and other customers food and drinks laced with anesthetics and help kidnap them.
It is believed that up to 300 security and intelligence agents from Pyongyang have been sent to China after Seoul refused to repatriate the 13 North Koreans who defected to South Korea en masse in early April.
Citing their relatively privileged backgrounds, North Korea has claimed that the defectors, who worked at its state-run restaurant in China, had no reason to abandon their nation.
The regime has argued that Seoul's intelligence agency abducted the 13 restaurant employees, including 12 young waitresses, after luring a male manager to join the scheme.
It is seen that Kim has ordered agents to kidnap South Koreans in other countries and use them as pawns in exchange for the 13 North Korean defectors and to prevent his people from being agitated further.
"These 300 agents are the largest group ever tasked with kidnapping exclusively," a source familiar with North Korea told Daily NK, a Seoul-based website specializing in providing Pyongyang-related news. "They've been told to abduct many more South Koreans than the 13 North Koreans who recently defected."
The anonymous source said the agents are from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), both of which report directly to Kim. The MSS is Pyongyang's autonomous police agency, while the RGB is responsible for clandestine operations.
"The agents are eager to fulfill their duty, and they keep track of flight schedules from Seoul to Dandong, Shenyang, Yanji and other Chinese cities for possible targets," the source said.
The tense diplomatic climate on the Korean Peninsula has increased the South Korean public's safety concerns about traveling to other countries, and the suspected murder of Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol by North Korean authorities only served to exacerbate those concerns. Han, who helped North Korean defectors, was found dead on April 30 in Changbai, near the Chinese-North Korean border.
The confirmation of six missing South Koreans by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week did not reassure the public.
The six have been reported missing by the South Korean consulate in Shenyang this year. The ministry said it "does not have the slightest clue" about the whereabouts of two in particular. Identified only as Kim and Joo, the two, according to sources, are North Korean defectors and have been affiliated with supporting underground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
ground churches in the repressive regime even after escaping to South Korea and becoming South Korean citizens.
Tips for avoiding abduction
In a meeting with some 10 major travel agencies in Seoul this week, the foreign ministry and affiliated ministries urged them to be prudent when selling tours to attractions near the Chinese-North Korean border. According to the government, such attractions are popular among South Koreans because many of them are related to Korean history, such as the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (B.C. 37- A.D. 668), and have abundant relics.
"We are asking you to refrain from selling tours to those regions, given the high risks of terrorist attacks and kidnapping there," Deputy Foreign Minister for Overseas Koreans Han Dong-man said.
Some defectors in Seoul echoed the government's view.
"People should be extra careful when traveling to China and Russia because both face North Korea via land routes, which make it easier for North Korean agents to abduct targets and transport them to North Korea," said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.
Park Sang-hak, a defector-turned-activist, said: "Using airplanes and ships to reach North Korea requires passports, so it would be preferable for the agents to kidnap South Koreans, especially missionaries and journalists, from the Chinese border and from Russia."
To help ensure their safety, the government advised South Koreans not to travel alone, not to go outside at night and to be cautious of strangers who approach them.
Park also said South Koreans should avoid passing by North Korean embassies and consulates.
Kang Cheol-hwan, a defector who runs the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul, warned against staying at hotels where North Koreans are known to stay. He said North Korea has invested in two Chinese hotels ― Ryugyong Hotel in Yanji and Chilbosan Hotel in Shenyang ― to expand its intelligence operations in China.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another defector advised against eating at a chain of Chinese restaurants operated by North Korea. The cash-strapped regime ran an estimated 130 eateries in 12 countries before the U.N. Security Council imposed its harshest sanctions on March 2. The countries included mostly former communist states such as China, Russia, Cambodia and Laos, but also the Netherlands.
"Never forget that security agents are behind the pretty waitresses," the defectors said.
Others speculated that North Korea may have bribed certain Korean-Chinese people running restaurants in China to offer South Korean and other customers food and drinks laced with anesthetics and help kidnap them.