But the South has always denied abducting North Koreans, saying that more than 30,000 North Koreans who have arrived in the South since the 1990s were defectors. It also denied the North’s claim that the waitresses’ manager had conspired with the South Korean spy agency to take them to the South after telling them that they were being relocated to a restaurant in Southeast Asia. Like other North Korean workers abroad, the women were trained to obey their manager, who held their passports. Mr. Heo said he became disillusioned with Mr. Kim after five of his former classmates were executed in a purge of officials close to Mr. Jang. Mr. Heo said he met a South Korean agent in a motel in China, signed a letter of allegiance, and had his picture taken with a South Korean flag as proof that he would not betray the agency.

Source: New York Times May 11, 2018 10:30 UTC