The improbable life of the Chinese-born polyglot who spied for North Korea



Features The improbable life of the Chinese-born polyglot who spied for North Korea Jeong Su-il went from a globe-trotting diplomat to disguised scholar in ROK, landing in prison for aiding Pyongyang Shreyas Reddy February 26, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON North Korean spy-turned-South Korean academic Jeong Su-il \| Image: Tongil News via YouTube (Nov. 27, 2021), edited by NK News A Chinese-born polyglot. A diplomat in multiple countries. An expert on the Silk Road who posed as a Filipino. And a notorious North Korean spy. The improbable life of Jeong Su-il, who died on Monday at the age of 90, sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, marked by espionage, imprisonment and controversy but also academic achievement. A Chinese-born polyglot. A diplomat in multiple countries. An expert on the Silk Road who posed as a Filipino. And a notorious North Korean spy. The improbable life of Jeong Su-il, who died on Monday at the age of 90, sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, marked by espionage, imprisonment and controversy but also academic achievement. Try unlimited access Only $1 for four weeks Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

The improbable life of the Chinese-born polyglot who spied for North Korea

Jeong Su-il went from a globe-trotting diplomat to disguised scholar in ROK, landing in prison for aiding Pyongyang

Shreyas Reddy February 26, 2025

The improbable life of the Chinese-born polyglot who spied for North Korea

North Korean spy-turned-South Korean academic Jeong Su-il | Image: Tongil News via YouTube (Nov. 27, 2021), edited by NK News

A Chinese-born polyglot. A diplomat in multiple countries. An expert on the Silk Road who posed as a Filipino. And a notorious North Korean spy.

The improbable life of Jeong Su-il, who died on Monday at the age of 90, sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, marked by espionage, imprisonment and controversy but also academic achievement.

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The improbable life of the Chinese-born polyglot who spied for North Korea

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