Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: Sale of North Korean ’embassy’ in Tokyo delayed over money-laundering claim
A Japanese court has intervened to delay the sale of North Korea’s de facto embassy in Tokyo to a mysterious Mongolian firm. The Tokyo District Court acted in response to a petition for an injunction on the sale filed by Ken Kato, director of Human Rights in Asia. Kato’s request pointed out that would-be buyer Avar was registered at an address in Ulan Bator, but the company apparently had no presence there. When a Japanese television team arrived at the Mongolian address to ask about the purchase of the 10-storey building that is now occupied by Chongryon, the organisation that represents North Korean residents of Japan, and the prime plot it occupies in Chiyoda Ward, they were met by a bemused woman. She told the TV crew her family had been living in the apartment for seven years and had never heard of Avar. “I told the court that this was a typical case of money laundering and that the court cannot permit the transaction to go ahead,” Kato told the South China Morning Post. “The address is fake and the registration of the company must therefore be illegal.” No deadline has been set for the court to make a decision on whether the transaction will go ahead, but Kato is confident any investigation will lead back to the North Korean leader. “Kim Jong-un wants to save face and not lose this property and I’m sure the decision to pay more than the market value is a case of a dictator’s whim,” he said. The minimum price for bidders for the property was set at 2.13 billion yen (HK$168 million), while a previous deal to buy the building in May for 4.52 billion yen fell through when the buyer, the chief priest of Saifukuji Temple, was unable to raise the funds by the deadline. Kato said it was therefore curious that the latest sale price was 5.01 billion yen. The property was put on the market in March by the government-backed Resolution and Collection Corp. in an effort to recoup loans of 62 billion yen that it extended to the residents’ association after the collapse of a number of financial institutions for North Korean residents of Japan.
Newsline: Mongolian embassy to help Indian police track hacker on the run
Unable to trace a Mongolian and a Sri Lankan hacker who are accused in the hacking of internet account of a local newspaper’s accountant two years ago, the Indore police staff are now looking for help from the Mongolian Embassy in New Delhi to track one of the two hackers who are on the run. An official from Mongolian embassy in New Delhi was recently in Indore to meet a Mongolian hacker Munero for legal help and help him contest the criminal case after he was arrested by the Indore police staff in February 2013 in the same case. Munero is lodged in the Indore Central Jail. The same official has also promised the Indore police all possible help in tracking another Mongolian hacker Tamir, who along with the Sri Lankan hacker Hashim is yet to be arrested. In February 2013, the Indore Police had claimed to have busted an international gang of hackers which had hacked the internet accounts of an account manager of a local newspaper two years ago. A 21-year-old school dropout from Ghaziabad, Varun Batra, had turned out to be the kingpin of an international gang of hackers. Varun had allegedly withdrawn Rs 10 lakh from the manager Sanjay Neema’s account with the help of Tamir, Munero and Hashim. Indore Police had arrested Varun Batra and Munero and recovered Rs 11,000, a laptop and mobile phones from them while Tamir and Hashim fled to their respective countries.
Consular affairs: Consulate General of Mongolia in HK established
The Consulate General of Mongolia inHong Kong was established, with Prime Minister of Mongolia Sukhbaatar Batbold officiating the inauguration ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Batbold said thousands of Mongolians travel to Hong Kong every year and the number is likely to increase along with the establishment of the consulate general and the opening up of the direct flight service betweenMongoliaandHong Kong recently. The growth of Mongolia’s GDP is one of the fastest in Asia, Batbold said, adding that more Mongolian companies are expected to come into Hong Kong, an international financial center, and get listed on the stock exchange in the city as the two places have developed stronger ties.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-06/15/content_12700879.htm
Newsline: Mongolian embassy in Vienna denies talks on taking US, Japan nuke waste
Mongolia has not been in talks about importing nuclear waste from other countries, its embassy in Vienna said, after a report that Japanand the United States planned to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility there. The country’s 2009 nuclear energy law “does not envisage import of nuclear waste from other countries,” said a statement from its embassy in the Austrian capital, where the U.N. nuclear agency is based. The statement, posted on the embassy’s website, came after Japanese daily newspaper Mainichi said Japanand the United States planned to jointly build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Mongolia to serve customers of Japanese and U.S. nuclear plant exporters.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE74A1FA20110511
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