Melbourne - Australian police said on
Sunday they had arrested a man accused of working on the black
market to sell missile components and coal on behalf of North
Korea, the first charges ever brought in Australia over the sale
of weapons of mass destruction.
The man had been charged with two counts under an act
preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
police said, and with another four under legislation enforcing
United Nations and Australian sanctions against North Korea.
The Sydney man was identified by the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation and other media as 59-year-old Chan Han Choi, who
they said had been living in Australia for more than 30 years
and was of Korean descent.
He was arrested in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood on Saturday
and was due to face court later on Sunday, police said. He came
to the attention of authorities earlier this year, the
Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.
"This man was a loyal agent of North Korea, who believed he
was acting to serve some higher patriotic purpose," AFP
Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters.
"This case is like nothing we have ever seen on Australian
soil," he said.
Police will allege the man tried to broker the sale of
missile components, including software for the guidance systems
of ballistic missiles, as well as trying to sell coal to third
parties in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Gaughan said the trade could have been worth "tens of
millions of dollars" if successful.
Cash-strapped North Korea has come under a new round of
stricter United Nations sanctions this year after pressing ahead
with its missile and nuclear programmes in defiance of
international pressure.
Tensions have risen dramatically on the Korean peninsula
because of the North's ballistic missile launches and its sixth
and most powerful nuclear test, as well as joint military drills
between South Korea and the United States that the North
describes as preparation for war.
Pyongyang claimed that its latest intercontinental ballistic
missile launch in November had the range to reach all of the
United States.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged North Korea on
Friday to carry out a "sustained cessation" of its weapons
testing to allow talks about its missile and nuclear programmes.
However, the North has shown little interest in talks until
it has the ability to hit the U.S. mainland with a
nuclear-tipped missile, which many experts say it has yet to
prove.
Gaughan said the man had been in touch with high-ranking
North Korean officials but no missile components ever made it to
Australia. He also said there was no indication officials in
Indonesia or Vietnam had been involved in the attempted coal
sales.
"This is black market 101," Gaughan said.
"We are alleging that all the activity occurred offshore,
and was purely another attempt for this man to trade goods and
services as a way to raise revenue for the government of North
Korea," he said.
The man faces up to 18 years in jail if convicted.