By John Power
Amid media furore, there is little evidence for the defection of a North Korean chemical weapons expert.
International media have seized on claims that a North Korean chemical weapons expert recently defected to Europe, taking with him data on human experimentation. But evidence for the claims remains scant, with The Diplomat unable to corroborate key details of the initial news report.
On July 2, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that a scientist, identified only by his surname Lee, had fled to Finland on June 6 via the Philippines.
According to the report, Lee brought with him 15 gigabytes of information on human experiments involving chemical agents such as sarin gas. Apparently disturbed by the tests, Lee was reportedly scheduled to present the evidence to the European Parliament later this month.
Despite this, The Diplomat has learned that no such individual is currently scheduled to testify before the legislative body.
“…There is no EP delegation nor committee meeting scheduled on this,” said director-general for communication Václav Lebeda on Monday.
Read the full story at The Diplomat