A police guard the head office of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chongryon, in Tokyo on Monday. A Japanese court on Monday ordered the group acting as North Korea's de facto embassy to repay huge debts initially covered by a government-backed debt relief program, in the latest blow against the Pyongyang-linked organization./AP

The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered Chongryon to repay 62.7 billion yen to the Resolution and Collection Corp., a government debt-collection body, and authorized seizure of Chongryon headquarters. Of 29 Chongryon facilities including headquarters in Tokyo, regional headquarters and schools, nine were earlier seized by the RCC and the remaining 20 are expected to be seized, depriving Chongryon of a base for its activities. Central headquarters is located in Chiyoda District, right in the center of Tokyo near the Imperial Palace and only 50 m from the militarist Yasukuni Shrine.

The reinforced concrete building has 10 stories above ground and two below with a total floor space of 11,700 sq.m on a 2,390 sq.m plot of the most expensive land in the capital, with a view of Mt. Fuji. It was to house the North Korean embassy in Japan once diplomatic relations are established.

Chongryon has mostly itself to blame. Sixteen Chongryon-affiliated credit unions went broke since the 1990s. The Japanese government put in a total of over 1 trillion yen in public funds to protect the depositors. The biggest cause of bankruptcies was illegal loans under fictitious names, a considerable portion of which is believed to have gone to the North Korean regime. Non-performing loans from the credit unions totaled 62.8 billion yen. The RCC won all 18 lawsuits involving the non-performing loans, and the court did not cut a penny from the sum RCC requested.

File photo of the 50th anniversary ceremony for the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan or Chongryon in Tokyo in May 2005./AP

Chongryon has its back against the wall. The rival Korean Residents Union in Japan or Mindan, which is pro-Seoul, on Friday expelled its leader Ha Byung-ok after he attempted reconciliation with Chongryon. The expulsion is seen as measure to protect the entire Korean community in Japan took from negative public opinion. The ex-leader, Ha Byeong-ok, on May 17 last year issued a joint statement with Chongryon declaring reconciliation, but was removed in the face of strong resistance from Mindan regional organizations. The new Mindan executive board issued an investigation report early this year saying the declaration “was a North Korean scheme to use Mindan in its unification front."

With Chongryon losing members en masse since North Korea test-fired missiles and a nuclear bomb last year, membership now accounts for less than 10 percent of Korean residents in Japan, according to Japanese authorities. It has some 20,000 to 30,000 active members. Prior to Monday’s trial, Chongryon attempted to avert seizure by selling the headquarters. In the process, it proved itself still influential enough to command support from a former chief of the Public Security Information Agency and a former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. But the sale on May 31 was effected without payment and voided by the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office.

(englishnews@chosun.com )