|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Judge denies bail for 'N. Korean agent'
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A California man accused of acting as a North Korean agent within the United States poses a significant flight risk and should remain jailed, a judge ruled Friday. Federal Magistrate Judge Victor Kenton refused to grant a request for bond for John Joungwoong Yai, 59, who is accused of operating within the United States at the direction and control of North Korean officials. "Mr. Yai engaged in a persistent manner over the years to obtain sensitive material," Kenton said. "If successful, he could have impaired U.S. security." Yai is not charged with espionage, but according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the FBI had Yai under surveillance since 1995. According to FBI documents, Yai was allegedly tapped to collect top secret information, but it appears most of the information he forwarded was readily available through news reports and on the Internet. He is also accused of trying to recruit other Korean Americans to "infiltrate" U.S. institutions. Yai's attorney, William Genego, argued his client does not pose a flight risk because of his extensive family and ties to the United States. The defendant's son, Dennis, 25, also tried to sway the court by testifying briefly about the close-knit Yai family. PaymentsFBI Special Agent James Chang, who interrogated Yai after his arrest on Tuesday, then took the stand. Chang testified Yai received five or six payments from the North Korean government ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, with the exception of one time when Yai was paid $20,000 in 2000. An FBI affidavit accuses Yai of communicating with his North Korean bosses in code via fax, e-mail, and personal meetings in China, the Czech Republic and North Korea. Yai, a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Korea, has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. He also faces charges of making fraudulent and false statements to a representative of the U.S. Customs Service and conspiring to make such statements. If convicted, Yai faces a maximum 20-year sentence in federal prison. His wife, Susan Youngja Yai, is also charged with making and conspiring to make fraudulent and false statements. The government alleges Yai and his wife traveled to the Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria to meet with a North Korean representative. On their return to Los Angeles International Airport, the couple declared that they were not carrying more than $10,000. A search revealed that they were carrying $18,179, prosecutors allege. Sums of more than $10,000 must, by law, be reported to U.S. Customs officials upon entry into the country. Yai is scheduled to return to court March 3 for a formal arraignment. The FBI is continuing its investigation into whether U.S. national security may have been breached by Yai's activities.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
