Lawyer says US bid to extradite North Korean is 'political'

A lawyer for a North Korean man facing potential extradition from Malaysia to the United States to face money laundering charges said Friday that the request was baseless and “political in nature.”

Mun Chol Myong, 54, has lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May after U.S. authorities requested his extradition. Malaysia’s government approved the extradition but Mun has challenged the U.S. bid.

His lawyer Jagjit Singh said Mun denied accusations that he was involved in supplying prohibited goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions. Singh noted that the Singaporean company where Mun works as a marketing sales manager hasn’t been charged, nor the three Singaporean directors there.

He said the defense hasn’t been given details of the money-laundering charges against Mun and “perceive it to be just mere allegations and unsubstantiated with any evidence.”

A court hearing Friday to rule on the extradition request following Mun’s challenge was postponed until next month. Mun has also appealed against a lower court’s decision to deny him bail, which Sing said will be heard Oct. 4.

Mun, who lives in Malaysia with his wife and two daughters, was present in court Friday, as were North Korean Embassy officials and his wife.

Singh said Mun’s case was similar to that of several Singaporeans and a North Korean who were charged in Singapore last year for providing jewelry and other luxury goods to Pyongyang that were banned under U.N. sanctions.

The U.S. didn’t seek the extradition of those individuals and they were allowed out on bail pending trial, he said. In contrast, the U.S. sought Mun’s extradition and a Malaysian court rejected Mun’s application for bail.

Singh said Mun’s extradition is likely the first of a North Korean to the U.S. for money laundering. He said the North Korean Embassy, which hired him to defend Mun, believed the extradition request was “completely political in nature.”

“We are just pawns being used in this political battle between North Korea and Americans,” he said.