| Kyong Wonha | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 경원하 |
| Hancha | 慶元河 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏng Wŏnha |
| Revised Romanization | Gyeong Won-ha |
Kyong Wonha is a nuclear scientist who may have participated in developing the North Korean nuclear program.
In North Korea, Kyong was a student at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. During the Korean War, he fled to South Korea, and eventually emigrated to Brazil and then Canada. He got a master's degree at Montreal's McGill University in 1969, and finally a doctorate at the same institution. He later accepted the invitation from Pyongyang and returned to North Korea, where he may have supervised the construction of Yongbyon Reactors and then the whole nuclear development program of the country. He taught at McGill University and in 1972 was placed under house arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) before being permitted to leave Canada and return to North Korea with his family.
According to a report published in the Weekly Australian but not confirmed by US officials, he defected to the West along with 20 scientists and military officers in October 2002 during Operation Weasel, a complex operation that spanned six months and involved the Pacific island state of Nauru and 10 other countries. The fact that Kyong was able to leave the country has been viewed as a sign that he could not have played a very important role in the nuclear program.