KOREA: Seoul denies terror threats came from Korean group

South Korean authorities Thursday brushed aside as groundless a Philippine newspaper report that a South Korea-based terror group was behind terror threats made last week in Bangkok, including one against the Korean Air office

The Korea Herald
Friday, April 30, 2004

By Lee Sun-young

BANGKOK - South Korean authorities Thursday brushed aside as groundless a Philippine newspaper report that a South Korea-based terror group was behind terror threats made last week in Bangkok, including one against the Korean Air office.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer earlier in the day quoted Philippine police as saying a group calling itself Yellow-Red Overseas Organization was responsible for terror threats to the Bangkok offices of three airlines, including Korean Air.

The newspaper, citing a report from the Philippine Task Force on Anti-Terrorism, quoted national police spokesman Joel Goltiao as saying Wednesday that Yellow-Red was eyeing targets in the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Thailand and Singapore.

Goltiao also said, according to the newspaper, that "there is such a (group), it's a newly formed terror group based in South Korea."

But the Korean counselor in Bangkok and police in Seoul dismissed the report, saying no such organization existed in South Korea.

A National Police Agency official in Seoul said the agency had discussed the Philippine report with the National Intelligence Service "but we found there is no such organization in Korea."

Korean Counselor in Bangkok Kim Hong-kyun also played down the report. "There are no indications so far to believe this group is based in Korea. Thai police are investigating whether there's any link between two separate mail threats," he said.

Last week, the Korean and Pakistan embassies in Bangkok received a letter from the "Yellow-Red Overseas Organization" threatening to attack the embassies, commercial flights and major institutions in Thailand.

Three airline offices, including Korean Air, at Bangkok international airport received a similar mail threat sent by a group labeled the Anti-Korean Interests Agency.

Date Posted: 4/30/2004