H R N K Joshua Stanton Arsenal of Terror North Korea, State Sponsor of Terrorism A T rsenAl of error n K , s s T orTh oreA TATe ponsor of errorism Joshua Stanton H R THE COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA N K 북한인권위원회 Copyright © 2015 by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea All rights reserved ISBN: 978-0-9856480-3-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015937031 A T rsenAl of error n K , s s T orTh oreA TATe ponsor of errorism Committee for Human Rights in North Korea 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 435 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 499-7970 www.hrnk.org C h r ommiTTee for umAn ighTs in n K (hrnK) orTh oreA B d oArd of ireCTors Roberta Cohen (Co-Chair) John Despres (Treasurer) Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Consultant on International Financial & Brookings Institution Strategic Affairs Specializing in Humanitarian and Human Rights Issues Morton Abramowitz Senior Fellow, Andrew Natsios (Co-Chair) The Century Foundation Former Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development Jerome Cohen Director, Co-Director, US-Asia Law Institute, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs NYU Law School Executive Professor, The Bush School of Adjunct Senior Fellow, Government & Public Service, Council on Foreign Relations Texas A&M University Author of The Great North Korean Famine Lisa Colacurcio Advisor, Impact Investments Suzanne Scholte (Vice-Co-Chair) President, Rabbi Abraham Cooper Defense Forum Foundation Associate Dean, Seoul Peace Prize Laureate Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles Gordon Flake (Vice-Co-Chair) Jack David Chief Executive Officer, Perth USAsia Centre, Senior Fellow, The University of Western Australia Hudson Institute Co-author, Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea Paula Dobriansky Chair, World Affairs Council of America Helen-Louise Hunter (Secretary) Adjunct Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Attorney Science and International Affairs, Author of Kim II-Song’s North Korea Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Distinguished National Security Chair, U.S. Naval Academy I Nicholas Eberstadt Marcus Noland Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies, American Enterprise Institute Peterson Institute for International Economics Author of books on North Korea including Author of books on North Korea including North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, Avoiding the Apocalypse: the Future of the and Society Two Koreas Carl Gershman Jacqueline Pak President, Professor, National Endowment for Democracy George Mason University Stephen Kahng Katrina Lantos Swett President, President and CEO, Kahng Foundation Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice e d David Kim xeCuTive ireCTor Coordinator, The Asia Foundation Greg Scarlatoiu Debra Liang-Fenton U.S. Institute of Peace Former Executive Director, HRNK Winston Lord Former Assistant Secretary for East Asia, Department of State, Ambassador to China Director of Policy Planning Staff, Department of State President, Council on Foreign Relations Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy Kevin C. McCann Formerly of Counsel, Paul Hastings LLP II A A : J s BouT The uThor oshuA TAnTon Joshua Stanton is an attorney in Washington, D.C. with 18 years of military and civilian experience in criminal and civil litigation and administrative law. From 1998 to 2002, he served as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate in the Republic of Korea. In 2006, he testified before the House International Relations Committee. He was the first to identify and publish satellite imagery of three North Korean prison camps, Camp 16 (Hwasong), Camp 25 (Chongjin), and Camp 12 (Cheongo-ri). His work has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph, and other sources. His op-eds have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, CNN International, and The Weekly Standard. He recently authored a paper on sanctions against North Korea, which was published in The Fletcher Security Review. Since April of 2013, he has assisted the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, with the drafting of the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2014, which passed the full House with 145 co-sponsors, and with H.R. 757, which was introduced in the House on February 5, 2015. The views he expresses are his own and do not represent views of the Foreign Affairs Committee, or of any organization or government agency. III A CKnowledgemenTs I offer my sincere gratitude to HRNK Co-Chairs Roberta Cohen and Andrew Natsios, and to all HRNK Board members, with a special thanks to Nicholas Eberstadt, Kevin McCann, Marcus Noland, and Jacqui Pak for their insightful and meticulous comments and edits, and for testing my analysis against their deep reserves of knowledge and judgment. Bruce Bechtol’s book, The Last Days of Kim Jong Il, was an extremely useful resource for researching North Korea’s links to Hezbollah and the Real IRA. Mark Manyin of the Congressional Research Service indulged my pedantic legal arguments with courtesy, patience, and tact. I also wish to thank HRNK staff members Amanda Morwedt Oh, Rosa Park, and Raymond Ha for their work on getting the report ready for publication. The readers of my blog, One Free Korea, commented on and tested the first drafts of my arguments over many years. HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu honored me by inviting me to contribute this report to HRNK’s body of excellent work. Finally, the wife and children I adore allowed me to sequester myself with my laptop for the latter half of my Christmas leave, and for several weekends thereafter, to write this report. IV To The Reverend Kim Dong-shik and to the family that lost him. V T C ABle of onTenTs I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 1 II. Background ......................................................................................................................... 2 A. Purpose and History of the SSOT List ........................................................................ 2 B. Authority for a SSOT listing ....................................................................................... 4 C. Definitions of “International Terrorism” and “Terrorist Activity” .................................... 5 D. Definition of “Support” .............................................................................................. 9 E. Conduct Supporting Prior SSOT Listings .................................................................. 10 1. Sponsorship of Terrorist Organizations ......................................................... 12 2. Terrorism by State Actors ..............................................................................14 3. Threats and Attempts .................................................................................. 16 4. Attacks Against Dissidents Abroad ............................................................... 18 5. Terrorism Directed Against Military Targets .................................................. 20 6. The Reconnaissance General Bureau ............................................................ 21 7. Other Conduct Cited .................................................................................... 23 8. Recency of Support for Terrorism .................................................................. 25 F. Consequences of a SSOT Listing ............................................................................... 26 1. Mandatory Financial Sanctions .................................................................... 26 2. Loss of Immunity from Tort Lawsuits for Terrorism or Torture ......................... 26 3. U.S. Opposition to Benefits from International Financial Institutions ............. 27 4. Other Effects ............................................................................................... 28 G. Removal from the SSOT List .................................................................................... 29 III. Before 2008: North Korea’s Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism .............................. 29 A. 1970-2015: Support for the Japanese Red Army ....................................................... 29 B. 1979-1986: Small-Scale Support for FTOs, the Rangoon Bombing ............................ 30 C. 1987: The KAL 858 Bombing and North Korea’s SSOT Listing .................................... 31 D. 1990-1999: Continued Support for Terrorist Groups; Assassination of South Korean Official .................................................................................................. 32 E. 1997-2004: Terrorist Financing ................................................................................ 34 F. 1999-2001: State Department Tests the Waters for De-Listing .................................. 35 G. 2001-2008: WMD Proliferation ............................................................................... 36 H. 2002-2008: Revelation of Abductions of Japanese Citizens ....................................... 38 I. 2005: Abduction and Suspected Murder of Rev. Kim Dong-shik .................................. 40 J. 2006-2014: Reports of Material Support for Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers .............. 44 VI K. 2003-2008: Shift Away from Justifications for Listing ............................................... 47 L. 2007: Construction of Nuclear Reactor at Al-Kibar, Syria ............................................ 48 M. 2006-2008: North Korea’s Removal from the SSOT List ............................................ 49 IV. Post-2008 Support for Acts of Terrorism .............................................................................. 52 A. 2009-2014: Suspected Arms Transfers to Terrorists ................................................... 53 1. 2009: M/V ANL Australia Arms Seizure .......................................................... 54 2. 2009: M/V Francop Arms Seizure .................................................................. 55 3. 2009: Seizure of Weapons Shipment at Bangkok ........................................... 56 4. 2011: Production of Ballistic Missiles in Syria; Alleged Delivery to Hezbollah.................................................................................................... 57 5. 2014: Reported Agreement to Sell Rockets to Hamas .................................... 57 6. Analysis ...................................................................................................... 58 B. 2008-2014: Assassinations, Kidnapping, Attempts, and Plots ..................................... 59 1. 2008: Assassination Plot Against South Korean Military Officer ..................... 61 2. 2010: Attempts to Assassinate Hwang Jang-yop ............................................ 61 3. 2011: Assassination of Kim Chang-hwan in Dandong, China .......................... 62 4. 2011: Attempted Assassination of Activist in Yanji, China ............................... 63 5. 2011: Attempted Assassination of Park Sang-hak ......................................... 64 6. 2014: Attempted Kidnapping of a North Korean Student in France ................ 65 7. Analysis ....................................................................................................... 65 V. Other Conduct That Could Justify SSOT Re-Listing ................................................................ 66 A. 2009: Nuclear and Missile Tests ............................................................................... 66 B. 2009-2014: Proliferation of Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Technology ................... 67 C. 2010, 2014: Direct Armed Attacks Against South Korea ............................................ 72 1. 2010: Sinking of the ROKS Cheonan .............................................................. 72 2. 2014: Shelling of Yeonpyeong Island ............................................................ 73 3. 2014: Cross-Border Attack Against Leaflet Launches ..................................... 74 4. Analysis ...................................................................................................... 74 D. 2009-2014: Threats Against Civilian Targets in South Korea ..................................... 76 E. 2010-2014: Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ............................................ 80 F. 2009-2014: Cyberattacks ......................................................................................... 83 1. 2009-2013: Suspected Cyberattacks Against Banks, Websites, Newspapers, Broadcasters ............................................................................... 84 VII