North Korea dissidents claim Madrid embassy 'raid'

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The so-called North Korean government in-exile has claimed responsibility of a "raid" on the North Korean embassy in Spain held last month.

According to Korean daily The Chosun Ilbo, a raid on the North Korean embassy in Madrid began on Feb. 22, when a member identified as Adrian Hong Chang walked into the embassy and asked to see the commercial attache, before other members burst in after him.

In a statement posted on its website, the group identifying itself as Free Joseon claimed it had "responded to an urgent situation in the Madrid embassy."

"They held embassy staff hostage for several hours before fleeing with computers, mobile phones and a stash of documents," the Chosun Ilbo said.

It revealed that it had shared information stolen from the embassy with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"The organization [Free Joseon] shared certain information of enormous potential value with the FBI in the United States, under mutually agreed terms of confidentiality. This information was shared voluntarily and on their request, not our own. Those terms appear to have been broken," the statement said.

Claiming that the incident was not an attack on the embassy, the group said it had responded an "urgent situation".

"We were invited into the embassy, and contrary to reports, no one was gagged or beaten. Out of respect for the host nation of Spain, no weapons were used," it said.

Washington has distanced itself from the group, which had formerly been called the "Cheollima Civil Defense", after its proposed name for the North Korean government after it achieves its stated goal of overthrowing the current regime.

In another statement, Freee Joseon claimed it "consists of members" both in and outside North Korea and is "committed to ending the Kim family's hereditary succession."