Rumors have swirled about the motivations behind the attack, which took place days before Trump’s summit with Kim.
By John Hudson John Hudson National security reporter focusing on the State Department and diplomacy. Email Bio Follow March 15 at 12:39 PM Days before President Trump was set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, a mysterious incident in Spain threatened to derail the entire high-stakes nuclear summit.
But in recent days, rumors have swirled about the motivations behind the attack in the Spanish media, including a report in El Pais alleging that two of the masked assailants have ties to the CIA. Trump, who began his presidency by threatening the total annihilation of Kim and his country, has shifted to effusive praise for the young leader as he tries to convince him to give up his nuclear program. But in the aftermath of the two leader's failed summit in Hanoi last month, tensions have reemerged, with North Korea's vice foreign minister threatening on Friday to suspend the denuclearization talks.
Experts say the computers and phones seized in the raid amount to a treasure trove of information that foreign intelligence agencies are likely to seek out from the group. The Cheollima group, which also goes by the name Free Joseon, first came to prominence in 2017 after it successfully evacuated the nephew of Kim Jong Un from Macau after potential threats to his life surfaced. The nephew was the son of Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s exiled half-brother who was assassinated in a nerve gas attack in a Malaysian airport in 2017. Kim Jong Nam was widely believed to have been killed by the regime, making his son a likely target.
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