Korean-Australian convicted in Sydney for North Korean arms deals, now wanted by South Korea

The South Korean government is working to extradite a Korean-Australian man involved in North Korean coal and arms transactions back to South Korea. The request for extradition was made to Armenia, a Central Asian country.

It turns out that this man was arrested in Australia in 2017 for illegal arms dealings with North Korea, which sparked international controversy, according to TV Chosun on August 15.

The man in question is Chan Han Choi, known as “Australia’s first North Korean spy.” In 2017, he was arrested in Sydney, Australia, for his involvement in North Korean arms transactions.

An Australian court sentenced Choi to three years and six months in prison for violating the “Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.”

Recently, however, the South Korean Ministry of Justice requested Choi’s extradition from Armenia, where he fled after his release from prison in Australia, traveling through Russia.

Prosecutors and police believe that Choi disappeared after embezzling $1 million from a South Korean company in 2009, intended for the import of North Korean coal.

The police have charged Choi with fraud and issued an Interpol red notice.

Authorities plan to extradite Choi to investigate the whereabouts of the $1 million and to probe potential espionage charges.

Choi, through a representative, told TV Chosun, “I did not flee, and the coal was not sent by North Korea due to political reasons.”

Meanwhile, after initially denying the charges, he pleaded guilty in 2021 to breaching sanctions by brokering the sale of arms and related materials from Pyongyang in exchange for petroleum products and attempting to export coal from North Korea to Indonesia.

Choi was a civil engineer born in South Korea who moved to Australia in the 1980s.

BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]