[imText1]The unusual report that one of Kim Jong Il’s closest entourages, his executive secretary, Kang Sang Choon, was arrested by the Chinese police in Macao on January 11 calls for much attention.
On the afternoon of the 27th, a Japanese foreign source said, “It has been reported that the Executive Secretary Kang Sang Choon was arrested by the Chinese police on the 11th, so the South Korean and Japanese information agencies are in the verification process.”
Kang is the director of Amisan Manufactures of the 2nd Department of the General Guard Department that manages the overall supply of private necessities to Kim Jong Il. He is known as Kim Jong Il’s protocol secretary and the secretary in charge of Kim Jong Il’s personal protection. His position equals to that of Chief of General Affairs in South Korea. Publicly, he is known as the Under Secretary of the Committee of the Party Leaders.
The source reported additionally that, “Although the background for arrest is under verification, considering the timing of his arrest, it is presumed that the arrest may be connected to the counterfeit money and money laundering through Macao Bank.”
“It is notable that the date of arrest and Kim Jong Il’s visit to China coincide. The Japanese information agency and media are currently conducting verification,” added the source.
As of now, whereabouts of Kang Sang Choon are not yet known.
Kang Sang Choon has served as the chief of North Korean officials in North Korea in 1991, and after his visit to Macao through China had been reported in 1995, he has been known as the person who frequently visited Macao for Kim Jong Il’s cash flow.
Lee Han Young had testified, “There is a department in the Central Party that has only the one task of buying presents for Kim Jong Il. The secretary of that department is Kang Sang Choon.” Lee is the nephew of Kim Jong Il’s wife who defected to South Korea and made Kim Jong Il’s private life public through his book, “The Royal Family,” and who was murdered in February, 1997.
Lee testified, “Secretary Kang, he starts out in Japan, visits Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, and Austria. He buys about one million dollars worth of things yearly.”
Fujimoto Kenji, a Japanese and a former cook for Kim Jong Il and the writer of the book, “Kim Jong Il’s Cook”, introduced Kang Sang Choon as being “responsible for escorting in the secretary office.”
Kang Sang Choon was born in June 8, 1940 and has been known as the “information channel” who examines all the reports made to Kim Jong Il.
