Free Joseon Developments

I previously wrote about the Cheollima group, calling itself the Provisional Government of Free Joseon, in this post following their 3.1 independence announcement. Since then, there has been a number of developments surrounding Free Joseon.

Blockchain Visas

First, the group is offering blockchain visas to visit Free Joseon after liberation. These visas cost 1 ETH (though they do welcome additional funds as donations) and are valid for one 45 day visit until 2029. This was posted on 17 March immediately following the widespread reporting attributing the 22 February raid on the DPRK embassy in Madrid. At this time, there are 5 token holders with two addresses holding two tokens, and the remaining three holding one token each. The Cheollima Group’s marketing of blockchain visas seems to indicate that the group is not well-funded.

Madrid Embassy Raid

The DPRK embassy in Madrid was raided on 22 February but was not reported on until 27 February by the Spanish news service El Confidenciale.
According to the report, a group of unidentified — but Asian — men entered the embassy, bound and gagged the employees, and interrogated the Charge D’Affaires. One female employee managed to get away and alerted police who, upon knocking on the embassy door, were greeted by an Asian man sporting a DPRK lapel pin and said everything was fine. After four hours inside the embassy, the group sped away with computers and mobile phones. The Spanish police were investigating the incident, though no complaint was filed by the DPRK.

On 13 March, the Spanish news service El Pais reported that two of the ten embassy raid assailants were identified as having links to the CIA. The probable motive for the raid was identified as gathering intelligence related to the former ambassador to Spain, Kim Hyok Chol. Kim, expelled from Spain following the latest DPRK nuclear tests, was most currently involved in US-DPRK denuclearization talks. Kim was also involved in the six-party talks and is described as an expert on nuclear deterrence. There is no evidence of US involvement in the raid at this time, and it would seem counterproductive to conduct a raid on an embassy immediately preceding the US-DPRK summit.

On 15 March, the Washington Post reported that the Cheollima Group was responsible for the 22 February raid according to sources familiar with the operational planning. The Cheollima Group has not given an official statement claiming responsibility, though their website does state that the group received a call for help in a certain Western country that was responded to despite the danger.

“Our group received a request for help from comrades in a certain Western country. Although this was a highly dangerous situation, we responded. We have an important announcement this week. Please contact us at any time for assistance.”

우리 조직은 어느서방국가에 있는 동지들에게 도움 요청을 받았습니다. 위험도 높은 상황이였지만 대응하였습니다.

이번 주에 중요한 발표가 있겠습니다.

언제나 도움이 필요하시면 연락 주십시오: ccdprotection@protonmail.com

The important announcement was likely the 3.1 declaration of the establishment of the Provisional Government of Free Joseon. Also, despite not being named by the Washington Post, the Cheollima Group is likely the source for the WaPo report. In a 17 March post on the group’s website titled, “모든 언론인들께 – To the Members of the Korean and Foreign Press”, the group asks that the press keep members of the Cheollima Group’s identity concealed until the group is prepared to have them known.

What We Know

The Cheollima Group posted a video of Kim Han Sol indicating he obtained safe passage from Macau along with his mother and sister. In the video, Han Sol is seen thanking his helpers although the identity of his helpers is redacted. However, in October of 2017 the Chinese government apprehended two members of a 7 man RGB team in Beijing tasked with eliminating Kim Han Sol. This would seem to indicate that Kim Han Sol remains in the PRC under the protection of the Chinese government, or at least that the DPRK believes this to be true. Additionally, the video does not prove that the Cheollima Group assisted Kim Han Sol and his family in obtaining safety.

Likewise, although it is probable that the Cheollima Group has claimed responsibility for the 22 February raid to the Washington Post, there is no evidence to support this claim. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the claim that the Cheollima Group is indeed attempting to establish a Provisional Government of Free Joseon, though the group is fundraising based on this claim.

Conclusion

There isn’t enough information at this time to draw significant conclusions about the Cheollima Group, their 3.1 declaration, the evacuation of Kim Han Sol, and the 22 February raid. I have not seen enough evidence at this time to indicate that the Cheollima Group is not a counter-intelligence operation orchestrated by the DPRK to present mis-information or gather information about dissidents and defectors. The El Pais claim that the 22 February raid was conducted by individuals associated with the CIA seems improbable. If the Cheollima Group was behind the raid, and is a legitimate dissenter group, conducting a direct action operation against an embassy that would be widely reported is not beneficial to US interests.

Thus, the situation requires additional monitoring before we can assess the motives of the Cheollima Group. For now, I wouldn’t get my hopes up about a rebellion in the North.