Espionage Training
Soon after joining the North Korean spy agency, Kim was given a new name, Ok Hwa and sent to live in a compound outside of Pyongyang. There, Kim spent seven years learning tradecraft. Her training included martial arts, physical fitness, and three years of Japanese. Kim's Japanese instructor was Yaeko Taguchi, one of many Japanese kidnapped by North Korea. Later, Kim testified that Taguchi was known to her as Lee Eun-hye (李恩惠, 리은혜). Additionally, students at this facility were shown propaganda films. At the end of her training, Kim was rigorously tested. Part of her final exam required her to infiltrate and steal documents from a mock embassy.
Kim spent time in China studying Chinese and was allowed to travel through Europe with an older man, known to her as Kim Seung Il (金勝一). This was part of her extensive preparation to complete a mission that was of great importance to the ruling Kim family. Her younger brother had died and her sister, who had married, was now a widow. The two lived in Macau for a time, where they used Zokwang Trading as a base of operations.
Read more about this topic: Kim Hyon Hui
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