Professor in Germany Said to Be a Politburo Figure in Pyongyang

Unification Minister Lim Dong-won said Tuesday during a hearing at the National Assembly that he believes Song Du-yul, a professor of philosophy at Muenster University in Germany who writes columns in the Hankyoreh newspaper, is the same person as Kim Chol-su, an alternate member of the Politburo of North Korea's Workers' Party.

Answering a question posed by Representative Park Won-hong of the opposition Grand National Party, Mr. Lim said, "I believe Mr. Song to be sympathetic to North Korea."

Mr. Lim also said that he did not know Mr. Song was writing columns in the Hankyoreh.

The assertion that Mr. Song is a Politburo member was first raised by Hwang Jang-yop, a former secretary of the Workers' Party who defected to South Korea in 1998.

After graduating from Seoul National University in 1967, Mr. Song studied philosophy under Juergen Habermas and received a doctorate from the University of Frankfurt. Since 1982, he has been a professor at Muenster University and also taught social and economic history at Humboldt University in Berlin.

After making an initial visit to North Korea in 1991 at the invitation of a North Korean state think tank, Mr. Song reportedly met with Kim Il-sung, the late leader of North Korea, numerous times.

Asserting that North Korea has been misunderstood, Mr. Song has attempted to explain the country to the outside world, and North Korea has reportedly shown willingness to accept his criticisms.

Last year, Mr. Song decided against returning to South Korea for an international symposium after the National Intelligence Service demanded that he sign a pledge not to violate the National Security Law.

by Ko Jung-ae