Trained to infiltrate N. Korea, then forgotten: Ex-agent recounts 3 secret years
In 1984, Ha Tae-jun, then 24, spotted a notice recruiting for a special unit at the Military Manpower Administration office in central Seoul's Yongsan District. The notice was scrawled on the wall in marker, with little explanation. Ha applied, and his life was changed forever — training as a South Korean operative for covert missions into North Korea. “About a month after submitting background…
In 1984, Ha Tae-jun, aged 24, discovered an advertisement seeking candidates for a clandestine unit while browsing the walls of the Military Manpower Administration office in Seoul's Yongsan District. The notice was hastily scribbled on the wall, offering scant details. Intrigued by the prospect, Ha applied, initiating a transformative journey that would alter the course of his life.
Two months later, he received word that he had successfully completed the background checks, and was summoned to meet at a café adjacent to his residence. At the time, Ha was unaware that his return home would be delayed by a span of three years. Initially, he was led to a secure dwelling on Mount Cheonggye in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where he underwent a rigorous fitness assessment before boarding a vehicle.
Expecting the ride to bring him back to his hometown, Ha was instead ushered into another secure facility in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, overseen by the Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment, a South Korean military unit responsible for the training and dispatch of operatives on covert infiltration missions into North Korea.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
