Australian accused of being ‘loyal agent’ to North Korea identified, called a ‘good man’

Chan Han Choi, 59, was arrested Saturday and charged with attempting to broker sales for Pyongyang and discussing weapons of mass destruction.

 (Australian Federal Police)

The Australian man who was arrested Saturday after being accused of working as an agent for North Korea as part of a case “like nothing … ever seen on Australian soil” has been identified.

Chan Han Choi, 59, was arrested in Sydney and charged with attempting to broker sales for Pyongyang and discussing weapons of mass destruction, The Australian reported Monday. Choi allegedly had acted on behalf of the rogue nation since at least 2008.

Choi, who was born in South Korea and became a naturalized Australian citizen, was described by Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Haughan on Sunday as a “loyal agent for North Korea who believed he was acting to serve some higher patriotic purpose.”

AUSTRALIAN MAN ACCUSED OF BROKERING NORTH KOREA MISSILE SALES

Australian police said Choi was generating tens of millions of dollars for Pyongyang by arranging the sale of missiles, components and expertise from North Korea to other international entities, and was trying to arrange the transfer of coal from the country to Indonesia and Vietnam.

Friends of Chan Han Choi within Sydney’s Korean Christian community distanced themselves from him.

 (Australian Federal Police)

It’s believed Choi had worked as a hospital custodian and often went by the name “Solomon,” according to The Australian. He was believed to have “turned” and reportedly visited North Korea often, starting roughly six years ago.

Friends of Choi’s within Sydney’s Korean Christian community distanced themselves from him.

“The first time we interacted there was no problem. However, after two or three times, his thinking started to change slightly to support the North ­Korean regime and it ­worried me, so I broke off the friendship,” a former friend from church told The Australian.

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The former friend’s wife said she “hated that my husband met with him.”

“I don’t like anything related to North Korea; many people are scared for their safety,” the wife said. “All those trips to North Korea — he was very private and we thought it was very strange.”

Two neighbors of Choi’s told The Daily Telegraph Choi’s arrest was “a real shock” and called him “quite nice,” while another neighbor said he was “very polite” and a “good man.”

Australian police said Choi is the first person charged under the country’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and faces 10 years in prison.

Choi reportedly is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.

Nicole Darrah covers breaking and trending news for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @nicoledarrah.

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Trump seeks to make strategy out of ‘America First’

President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE, on Monday, unveiled a new national security strategy aimed at delivering on the “America First” theme of his campaign and correcting what he sees as the mistakes of past presidents that damaged the United States’ standing in the world.

The 55-page document, drafted over the course of a year, places the United States in competition with “revisionist” powers like Russia and China that want to realign the world in their interests while eroding American security and prosperity.

“Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in a new era of competition,” Trump said during a speech meant to outline the strategy.

“We will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries,” the president said of Moscow and Beijing, as long as it “protects our national interest.”

Trump’s rhetoric, however, diverged from the document’s tougher talk on Russia and China at times, raising questions about how significantly the strategy will reshape administration policy.

An animated Trump at one point hailed a recent phone call with Vladimir Putin in which the Russian leader thanked the administration for a counterterrorism tip.

Such cooperation is “the way it is supposed to work,” Trump said in a remark that seemed in line with the general approach he has taken toward Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump reiterated his campaign promises to strengthen U.S. borders and fight “radical Islamic terrorism,” a favorite term of the president that was not used in the strategy document. Trump also made it clear he is willing to buck the international community to get his way.

The president rattled off a number of moves he said delivered on those promises, including the withdrawal from the “job-killing” Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact and the “expensive and unfair” Paris climate accord.

He also promoted stock market gains, a strong jobs market and the expected passage of a tax bill in Congress as evidence of his success.

“A nation that does not protect prosperity at home cannot protect its interests abroad,” Trump said.

Every president is mandated by Congress to issue a national security strategy, which is designed to guide the administration’s decision making in foreign affairs.

The formal strategy articulates two broad themes of the Trump administration’s approach — what senior officials call “an unprecedented focus on homeland security and the border” and a greater emphasis on economic issues.

It asserts that “a nation without borders is not a nation,” calling for Trump’s signature campaign promise of a border wall and more recent demands to end so-called chain migration and the diversity visa lottery.

In a break with former administrations, the document does not include the goal of spreading democracy abroad, nor does it consider climate change to be a national security threat, as the Obama administration did.

While the strategy was meant to set a unified approach to tackling the world’s thorniest problems, Monday’s rollout showed the divisions within the Trump administration over Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

The document calls out the “subversive tactics” Moscow uses to interfere “in the domestic political affairs in countries around the world,” including the use of “information tools” to “undermine the legitimacy of democracies.”

But it does not spell out in detail how the U.S. should confront Russia over its election meddling, even as it prescribed specific ways to address Chinese trade practices and alleged intellectual property theft.

Briefing the document to reporters on Sunday, senior officials identified Russia’s primary sin as the annexation of Crimea in 2014 — not election meddling.

Trump on Monday made no mention of the intelligence community’s belief that Moscow attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, an assessment that he has repeatedly declined to accept as fact.

The subject is a sore spot for the president, who has chafed at the special counsel investigation into whether his campaign cooperated with the Kremlin’s efforts to intervene in the election.

The omission laid bare the divisions between Trump and some senior officials in his administration. Deputy Attorney General Rod RosensteinRod Jay RosensteinDOJ failed to interview FBI informant before it filed charges in Russian nuclear bribery case Deputy AG Rosenstein: Charlottesville marchers advocated ‘racism and bigotry’ White House could use ethics rule to hamper special counsel on Russia: report MORE, who is overseeing the special counsel’s investigation, attended the speech, sitting in the front section.

Secretary of State Rex TillersonRex Wayne TillersonOvernight Defense: Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital | Mattis, Tillerson reportedly opposed move | Pentagon admits 2,000 US troops are in Syria | Trump calls on Saudis to ‘immediately’ lift Yemen blockade Trump has yet to name ambassadors to key nations in Mideast Mattis, Tillerson warned Trump of security concerns in Israel embassy move MORE, whom Trump has continually undercut on issues from Iran to North Korea, also attended the speech, arriving late and sitting off to the side.

Trump signaled flexibility in dealing with adversaries — even the so-called revisionist powers — an approach that the document labels as “principled realism” from a president who has styled himself as the consummate dealmaker.

Trump has touted his “chemistry” with Xi and said he “trusts” Putin, arguing that a better relationship with the two strongmen will translate to progress on matters of U.S. concern abroad.

And while the president seemed to take pleasure in spiking international agreements he said are bad for the country, he expressed his willingness to work with allies and partners to curb North Korea’s nuclear program and counter Iran in the Middle East.

“But,” Trump said, “while we seek such opportunities for cooperation, we will stand up for ourselves and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before.”

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