Since the Korean War, North Korea has been militarily standing face to face with South Korea across the
North-South demilitarized zone. As part of its terrorist activities against South Korea, North Korean agents
have engaged in terrorist acts in various parts of the world. Based on such circumstances, in 1988 the US State
Department designated North Korea as "a state sponsor of terrorism," along with Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and
Syria.
1. Attempted Attack on the South Korean Presidential Palace (Chong Wa Dae)
In January 1968, 31 armed North Korean guerillas entered the South disguised as South Korean soldiers with
plans to assassinate President Pak Chong-hui of South Korea and other top officials. They engaged in a gunfight
with South Korean authorities in the streets near the Presidential Palace (Chong Wa Dae), causing many South
Korean casualties. Most of the armed guerillas were shot to death by the South Korean authorities, and only one
was arrested.
2. Rangoon, Burma Incident
In October 1983, three North Korean armed guerillas entered Burma (present day Myanmar) with plans to
assassinate President Chun Doo-Hwan of South Korea and others who were paying a state visit to Burma at the
time. They set off a bomb at Aung San's mausoleum, one of the planned visiting spots, killing 21 South Korean
officials, including the Foreign Minister, and wounding over 40 people.
3. Korean Airlines Bombing Incident
In November 1987, North Korean agents Kim Sun-Gil and Kim Hyon-Hui, who were in possession of false
passports under Japanese names, set a time bomb on board Korean Airlines Flight 858 flying from Baghdad via
Bangkok and Abu Dhabi, en route to Seoul. The bomb was detonated on the way from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok,
south of Burma, above the Andamanne Sea, killing all 115 passengers and crew members. From Kim Hyon-Hui's
confession and other sources it was revealed that the agents had belonged to the Overseas Intelligence Division
of the KWP, and had received orders in North Korea to "bomb the Korean Airline aircraft to obstruct the Seoul
Olympics (September 1988)."
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| Kim Hyon-Hui's false passport(Photo: Jiji Press) |
4. Recent Developments
Since the Korean Airlines Bombing Incident there have not been any terrorist acts which indicate the involvement of North Korea. However, there has been an incident in which a North Korean submarine was stranded in an area in the northeast of South Korea in September 1996, and armed agents who were in it infiltrated South Korean territory. (Of these agents, some were found dead in a nearby mountain, and others were shot to death by the South Korean army.) In another incident in June 1998, nine dead bodies and automatic rifles were discovered in a submarine that drifted into South Korean territory.
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| Submarine infiltration incident (June 1998, South Korea)(Photo: Kyodo Press) |