First North Korean National Extradited to the U.S.

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated March 22, 2021, Mun Chol Myong, 55, is the first North Korean national to be extradited the United States. Mun was extradited to the United States to face charges of money laundering in order to circumvent U.S. sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division said of the extradition, “He is the first North Korean intelligence operative — and the second ever foreign intelligence operative — to have been extradited to the United States for violation of our laws. We will continue to use the long reach of our laws to protect the American people from sanctions evasion and other national security threats.”

According to the indictment, Mun allegedly violated both U.S. and U.N. sanctions through money laundering activities that amounted to over $1.5 million in transactions. Furthermore, the indictment alleges that Mun was associated with the DPRK’s intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

Mun and his co-conspirators allegedly deceived U.S. correspondent banks into processing U.S. dollar transactions for North Korea, which the banks would not have processed for DPRK entities.

Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division explained, “One of the FBI’s biggest counterintelligence challenges is bringing overseas defendants to justice, especially in the case of North Korea. Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with foreign authorities, we’re proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the United States to face justice, and we hope he will be the first of many.”