US weapons experts to give evidence in trial of alleged North Korean ‘agent’ Chan Han Choi
US weapons experts will give evidence in the NSW trial of a man accused of helping Pyongyang sell missiles.
Several high-profile US weapons experts will be called to give evidence in the trial of a self-styled political prisoner accused of playing a central role in a plot to help North Korea sell missile parts and related technology on the black market, a court has heard.
Chan Han Choi, 61, is facing six charges related to brokering the sale of missile parts and expertise from North Korea to “international entities” and trying to use blackmarket contacts to transfer coal from the rogue state to undisclosed buyers in Indonesia and Vietnam.
On Wednesday, the NSW Supreme Court heard the crown would call five US-based witnesses with “specialist knowledge of missiles and rocketry” to provide expert evidence at Mr Choi’s trial in February.
Among the US experts expected to give evidence next year are analysts well-versed in North Korea’s use of missile and space programs, experts in the country’s overseas smuggling networks and spy agencies, and a former UN weapons inspector.
Crown prosecutor Jennifer Single SC said she would call Michael Elleman, a nuclear policy expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, David Von Hippel, a North Korean energy expert, and Jason Arterburn, a counterproliferation researcher, to give evidence at trial.
Mr Choi, the first person charged under Australia’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, had been held on remand at Long Bay jail for almost three years, where he was classified as a National Security Interest Prisoner, before being granted bail.
In the months before his arrest in 2017, Mr Choi was allegedly working to broker deals to sell missiles and related technology and expertise from North Korea to undisclosed entities represented by a businessman in Taiwan.
At one point, police allege, the businessman sent him a pamphlet for a tactical inertial measurement unit, used in missile guidance, allegedly hoping to produce an equivalent with North Korea’s help.
On Wednesday, defence lawyer Ihab Jamal told judge Christine Adamson that he would mount a challenge to Mr Choi’s 24 strict bail conditions on Friday.
Ms Single, who has consistently opposed bail, said any attempt to ease Mr Choi’s conditions, including a ban on downloading encrypted software, would again be opposed by the crown. Last month, Ms Single claimed Mr Choi remained a “flight risk” and said he could be whisked out of Australia on a fake passport with the help of Chinese or Russian agents.
In summarising the crown’s case previously, she said Mr Choi was “essentially a middleman” for North Korea who might try to flee Australia before his trial.
Mr Choi, who believes he is a political prisoner, is prohibited from communicating with representatives of the North Korean government.
Police allege Mr Choi, a South Korea-born cleaner, spoke in code while negotiating with groups suspected of working on Pyongyang’s behalf from about 2013.
He allegedly acted as an economic agent for North Korea, potentially generating tens of millions of dollars for the rogue nation, by using code words such as “little pine tree” to describe missiles and “nursery” to refer to weapons factories.
The matter will return to court on Friday.
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