North Korean Spy Given Medal

[JPL]

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il awarded his country's second-highest order to a spy who kidnapped a 43-year-old Japanese man in 1980, in recognition of the agent's "great contribution" to the nation, it has been learned. Sin Guang Su, 82, is wanted internationally in the abduction of Tadaaki Hara in Miyazaki Prefecture and is believed to have been involved in several other abduction cases involving Japanese nationals. After abducting Hara in 1980, Sin entered South Korea posing as Hara in 1985, but was arrested by South Korean authorities. According to investigation reports from the time, Kim Jong Il, then a secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, had ordered Sin in Pyongyang to abduct an unmarried Japanese man and impersonate him. After the abduction of Hara, Kim Jong Il invited Sin to an event in Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the birthday of his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, in April 1982. At that event, Kim awarded Sin the

Order of the National Flag 1st Class

. This order is given to people who have made special contributions to North Korea in the political, economic or military arena. It was the highest honor in North Korea until the creation of the

Order of Kim Il Sung

in 1972. Read the complete article:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111221005912.htm

Jean-Paul