How the first North Korean to face charges in US triggered a diplomatic standoff
O Nam Chol was accused of sexual assault in 1982, forcing DPRK and US to negotiate for first time in decades
A courtroom sketch of O Nam Chol appearing before Judge Francis Nicolai, July 1983 | Image: Courtroom Sketches of Ida Libby Dengrove, University of Virginia Law Library
Malaysia’s extradition of Mun Chol Myung last year marked the first time a North Korean man was brought to the U.S. to stand trial, an unprecedented money-laundering case that is still ongoing after numerous delays.
But for all the attention on Mun, he is not the first North Korean to face charges in the U.S. That distinction goes to the little-known DPRK diplomat O Nam Chol.
Malaysia’s extradition of Mun Chol Myung last year marked the first time a North Korean man was brought to the U.S. to stand trial, an unprecedented money-laundering case that is still ongoing after numerous delays.
But for all the attention on Mun, he is not the first North Korean to face charges in the U.S. That distinction goes to the little-known DPRK diplomat O Nam Chol.
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