Cheollima Civil Defense: Limited Hang Out?

From the website for Cheollima Civil Defense:

우리 조직의 현재 입장
우리 조직의 현재 입장은 다음과 같다:
우리는 자유조선의 도움으로 북한을 탈출하여 세계 각국에 있는 동포와 결집한 탈북민의 조직이다.
우리는 행동으로 북한 내 혁명 동지들과 함께 김정은정권을 뿌리채 흔들것이다.
북한정권을 겨냥하는 여러 작업을 준비 중이었지만 언론의 온갖 추측성 기사들의 공격으로 행동소조들의 활동은 일시 중단 상태이다.
우리는 엄격한 보안상 한국 거주중인 그 어떤 탈북민과도 연계를 맺거나 심지어 전화통화를 한 적이 없다.
언론은 우리 조직의 실체나 구성원에 대한 관심을 자제해달라. 우리의 더 큰 일들이 앞에 있다.
우리는 김씨일가 세습을 끊어버릴 신념으로 결집된 국내외 조직이다.

March 28, 2019, 2:12 a.m. UTC

Why is there no hangul version of the longer and more complex statement in English posted on the Chollima group's website just prior to the one above? That longer statement includes this assertion:

"No information about Madrid was shared with any parties with the expectation of any benefit or money in exchange. The organization 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."

https://www.cheollimacivildefense.org/post/2019-3-26_FactsAboutMadridInformaci%C3%B3nSobreMadrid_34286/

March 26, 2019, 7:41 p.m.

So the observation by Shin In Kyun and other experts about the organization's lack of facility with the Korean language is well taken. Perhaps they only feel comfortable communicating in English when they don't have a lot of time to work on a statement in hangul which then still reflects their limitations in that regard.

So now the group led by a former Yale student, Adrian Hong Chang, just got Lee Wolosky from a high powered law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, to represent them. One of the things they want to do is discourage the government of Spain from naming the people in their group or extraditing them.

https://www.bsfllp.com/lawyers/lee-s-wolosky.html

The lawyer has significant national security experience.

(Source- Channel A News Top Ten 3.29) According to, Kim Jong Bong, a former Korean National Intelligence Service employee, Adrian Hong Chang had previously contacted Kim Jong Nam and asked him to lead a government in exile repeatedly which he refused to do.

(Source- YTN News 3.29) Kim Han Sol receiving US protection...going forward will this be a variable in negotiations? Story of Kim Han Sol's journey. State Department has nothing to say. Who assisted in Kim Han Sol's American journey? During the YTN interview, national security analyst Kim Jong Bong, said a Japanese language report stated that Kim Jong Nam met with two CIA people directly before he was killed at the Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017. (Kim Jong Nam was Kim Han Sol's father and Kim Jong Un's half brother.) In his opinion the Japanese report was credible. The YTN news graphic in the background shows the relationship he observes among three entities during the rescue of Kim Han Sol after his father's death: Choellima Civil Defense, extract; CIA, transfer; FBI protect.


Kim Jong Bong, a former National Intelligence Service, North Korea desk analyst, stated he felt there was involvement by the CIA in the Kim Han Sol defection and protection operation by the so called Choellima Civil Defense group, but doesn't believe they provided the command or direct support for the Madrid Embassy break in. He concedes that other observers perceive the possibility of US direct support but feels he that this kind of action by the US is unlikely because it would hurt US interests and be futile in that respect. This is labored reasoning. The timing of the attack was intended to discourage the negotiations with the DPRK in Hanoi. It also provides a useful cutout for operations to weaken the DPRK political position in prospective negotiations and otherwise. Namely, an "independent group" carried out the embassy attack and then provided the FBI with intelligence information they took by force. Most Korean analysts seem to agree that the group that carried out the embassy attack has had extensive training in such special operations from military or intelligence training sources. The YTN guest, who also appears regularly on Channel A News Top Ten as an expert commentator, thinks the US relationship with Adrian Hong Chang probably emerged over his years of assisting and providing sanctuary to North Korean defectors.