Statist Bitch Nailed: North Korean 'Mata Hari' accused of courting southern officers

Location: Hadal Zone Job/hobbies: State Liquidator

SHE'S accused of being the Mata Hari of North Korea, a temptress-spy who for years sought military secrets from South Korean officers.

The method was potentially lethal: Won Jeong Hwa reportedly plotted to assassinate South Korean agents with poisoned needles provided by handlers from Pyongyang.

The 34-year-old North Korean native was arrested earlier this year along with her 63-year-old stepfather and accused of seven years of espionage and deceit after defecting to South Korea. Under questioning, she detailed for South Korean investigators a double life working for one of the world's most repressive regimes.

The case of Won, only the second Northern spy to face trial here in the past decade, has riveted the South Korean public while embarrassing the nation's intelligence network. The media have dubbed her "Mata Hari", after the Dutch erotic dancer and courtesan executed by the French as a double agent in World War I.

Won was promoted by authorities as a model North Korean defector following her arrival in 2001.

All the while, prosecutors say, she pursued her real agenda: collecting photos of military installations and weapons systems and keeping lists of North Korean defectors and personal data about Southern military officers.

Her court-appointed lawyer insists she was brainwashed by the North to provide information that amounted to nothing more than what could be found on the internet.

For its part, North Korea denies Won was its agent, calling her "human scum" and describing the case as a "threadbare charade" to embarrass the North, which has remained technically at war with the South since their conflict ended in an armistice in 1953.

Last week, Won appeared before a crowded courtroom as a three-judge panel considered her fate.

One of her missions, the prosecutor alleged, was to find Hwang Jang Yop, the highest-ranking North Korean defector, who is constantly guarded to prevent assassination attempts.

Many say the case, reminiscent of the darkest days of the Cold War, raises questions about how many North Korean spies might be operating in South Korea. Some 4500 northern operatives have been exposed since 1948.

During the court hearing, Won, the mother of a seven-year-old daughter, pleaded for leniency, her voice breaking in the hushed courtroom, as she explained her fears for her family remaining in the North. "Please let me live with my daughter while I repent myself."

Authorities say Won served jail time for theft in the North and feared possible execution. She fled to China but returned and was recruited by North Korea's National Security Agency.

While in China, she fell pregnant to a South Korean businessman.

Won came to South Korea later that year disguised as Chinese-Korean looking for her baby's father.

After passing the detailed debriefing given all defectors by South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Won was assigned the task of delivering anti-North lectures at military bases.

She gave scores of talks to soldiers, using the occasions to seduce South Korean officers, authorities say.

She was arrested in August, three years after South Korean agents began monitoring her.

While Won could receive the death penalty when she is sentenced later this month, the prosecutor asked for a five-year sentence, saying he believed she regretted her spying.

LNK
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