Free Joseon: Difference between revisions

| name = The Provisional Government of Free Joseon

| native_name = 자유조선

| native_name_lang = Korean

| image =

| image_size =
| alt =

| alt caption =

| logo_size logo_alt =

| motto predecessor =

| predecessor merged =

| merged successor =

| founder =

| founding_location =

| extinction = <!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->

| type =

| status =

| purpose =

| headquarters =

| location =

| website = {{URL|http://www.cheollimacivildefense.org/}}

| remarks =

| formerly = Cheollima Civil Defense

| footnotes =

| bodystyle = =

'''Free Joseon''' ({{korean|자유조선}};), formerly known as '''Cheollima Civil Defense''', ({{Lang-ko|천리마민방위|links=no}}) and formally styled as '''The Provisional Government of Free Joseon''' ({{Lang-ko|자유조선임시정부|links=no}}), is a covert anti-[[North Korea]]n activist group and self-proclaimed "[[government in exile]]" established on March 4, March 2017. It has been noted for protecting the family of [[Kim Jong-nam]] (including [[Kim Han-sol]]) following [[Assassination of Kim Jong-nam|his assassination in Malaysia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=[Newsmaker] Group claims establishment of NK provisional government |date=March 1, 2019 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190301000072 |access-date=March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306174844/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190301000072 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Shadowy group declares 'government-in-exile' for North Korea |date=March 1, 2019 |work=[[France24]] |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190301-shadowy-group-declares-government-exile-north-korea |access-date=March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306113315/https://www.france24.com/en/20190301-shadowy-group-declares-government-exile-north-korea |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It is also known to support [[North Korean defectors]].<ref>{{cite web | last1=Hope | first1=Bradley | last2=Lyons | first2=John | last3=Gale | first3=Alastair | title=Inside the Secretive Group Trying to Bring Down North Korea's Regime | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-covert-group-threatening-to-bring-down-north-korea-11585923813 | date=April 3, 2020 | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | accessdate=April 4, 2020}}</ref> On 1 March 1, 2019, "Cheollima Civil Defense" was renamed to "Free Joseon", which is also the proposed name for North Korea if it "overthrows its current government". Similar to the [[Fighters for a Free North Korea]], the group is considered as a North Korean democracy movement.

On 15 March 2019, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that Free Joseon was involved in the February 22 February [[raid on North Korea's embassy in Madrid|incident at North Korea's embassy in Madrid]].<ref>{{cite webnews |title=A shadowy group trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un allegedly raided a North Korean embassy in broad daylight |worknewspaper=Washington Post |date=March 15, 2019 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/a-shadowy-group-trying-to-overthrow-kim-jong-un-raided-a-north-korean-embassy-in-broad-daylight/2019/03/15/ae4208a4-c451-4886-b608-f5ac1f182d3d_story.html |access-date=March 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316041849/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/a-shadowy-group-trying-to-overthrow-kim-jong-un-raided-a-north-korean-embassy-in-broad-daylight/2019/03/15/ae4208a4-c451-4886-b608-f5ac1f182d3d_story.html |archive-date=March 16, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Group seeking to overthrow Kim behind North Korea embassy raid in Spain: Washington Post |work=[[Reuters]] |date=March 16, 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-dissidents/group-seeking-to-overthrow-kim-behind-north-korea-embassy-raid-in-spain-washington-post-idUSKCN1QW2ZL |access-date=March 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317052910/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-dissidents/group-seeking-to-overthrow-kim-behind-north-korea-embassy-raid-in-spain-washington-post-idUSKCN1QW2ZL |archive-date=March 17, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Spanish media linkedclaimed several2 participants in an allegedthe raid were linked to the CIA.<ref>

The group's activities have included numerous defections of North Koreans escaping the country and their embassies abroad. These include the former North Korean ambassador to Italy:, Jo Song Gil. It is also reported that the incident at the North Korean embassy in Madrid in 2019 may have been a botched defection effort disguised as a staged kidnapping, rather than an alleged raid. <ref>{{Cite webmagazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/23/the-underground-movement-trying-to-topple-the-north-korean-regime|title=The Underground Movement Trying to Topple the North Korean Regime|magazine=The New Yorker |date=13 November 2020 |last1=Kim |first1=Suki }}</ref>

On 18 April 18, 2019, the [[United States Department of Justice]] arrested Free Joseon member Christopher Ahn and raided the apartment of member [[Adrian Hong]].<ref>{{cite webnews | title=U.S. authorities make first arrest in mysterious raid of North Korea's Embassy in Spain|worknewspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=April 19, 2019 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-authorities-make-first-arrest-in-mysterious-raid-of-north-koreas-embassy-in-spain/2019/04/19/bfee15e2-d984-4600-9b63-14270f9b0bb3_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420172629/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-authorities-make-first-arrest-in-mysterious-raid-of-north-koreas-embassy-in-spain/2019/04/19/bfee15e2-d984-4600-9b63-14270f9b0bb3_story.html |access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-date=April 20, 2019 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

On 30 June 30, 2019, Free Joseon released a statement on the [[2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit]], in which [[United States]] President [[Donald Trump]] met with [[Kim Jong-un]] and symbolically stepped across the border into North Korea at the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]]. The statement was critical of the true intent of the North Korean regime in reopening dialogue with the United States on the issue of [[denuclearisation]], stating "Millions starved to death, hundreds of thousands of citizens in [[Concentration Camp|concentration campscamp]]s, and hundreds of foreigners kidnapped and assassinated will attest that, unfortunately, the regime in [[Pyongyang]] has never acted in good faith and only seeks to stall while it continues to proliferate [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] and commit mass atrocities. Regretfully, these empty gestures by the Kim regime serve only to deceive the world and empower an immoral criminal regime".<ref>Eric Shawn: [https://video.foxnews.com/v/6054047801001/#sp=news-clips/world President Trump, Kim Jong-un...and Otto Warmbier]. America's Newsroom. Fox News Channel. June 30, 2019. https://video.foxnews.com/v/6054047801001/#sp=news-clips/world</ref>