Spaniardswereejectedfromthepark.“AtleastI managed
toseealligators,”hesays.“That’sthegoodpartofit.”
PublicrantshaveharmedCaodeBenósbefore.A fewyears
backhewasstandingalongtheKoreanDemilitarizedZone
witha Spanishjournalistwhoaskedhim,oncamera,howhe
feltaboutthepresenceofU.S.soldiers.CaodeBenósreplied
thathefelt“veryangry”about“theU.S.occupation”andthat
if necessary,“Iwilltakethearmsandpushthemout.”The
footagesetoffa backlashinSpainthatledtoa raidonhis
home,theconfiscationoftwohandgunsthatfiredonlyrub-
berbullets,andthelossofhispassport.Hepleadedguilty
tonothavingtherequiredlicensefortheguns.Thecaseis
underappeal,andhe’sstillunabletotravel.
ConsensusintheU.S.hasbeenthatNorthKoreawas
behindtheSonyhack,butthat’snotbeenproven.Caode
Benósis heretotellusallthattheassertionis ridiculous.The
countrydoeshaveexcellenthackers;targetinga moviestudio
wouldbea wasteoftheirabilities.
t’sbeen threeyears since Caode Benóshas visited
Pyongyang.Hesayshemissestheplace.Hestillwisheshe
couldlivethere,wheretheonlythinghislifemightlackis vari-
ety.He’dmisshorrormovies.“Wedon’thavegoodhorrormov-
iesinNorthKorea,becauseyouneedspecialeffectsanda full
industrybehindthat,”hesays.“ButwillI sacrificea horror
movieonceeverytwomonthsforlivingina placewhereI can
leavemywallet,andnobody’sgoingtostealfromme—whereI
willhavea freemortgage.BecausenowI’mlivingontheedge.
If I don’thavemoneyattheendofthismonth,thebankkicks
meout.I’mhomeless.Sowhatdoyouwant,toseea horror
movieorhavea houseguaranteedforlife?”
CaodeBenósis anidealist.Hypocrisyirritateshim.“That’s
whyI workforNorthKorea,”hesays.“Iknowthepresident,
vicepresident,andmostofourministersandleaders.I know
howtheylive.I knowhowtheybehave.Theyaretheoneswho
setthestandardofhonestyandbeinghumble.If I foundthat
anyofthemwillaccepta bribe,orsayingonethinganddoing
theother,I willneverworkforourgovernment.I toldour
president,‘I willalwaysservetheDPRKaslongaswekeepour
ideologyandourstandard.’ThedaythatDPRKwillchange,
likeChina,orwhentheyacceptbribes,I willsaybye-bye.”
(NorthKorea’smissionattheUNandthecountry’sembassy
inBeijingdidn’trespondtorequestsforcommentonCao
deBenós’srelationshiptothegovernment.SouthKorea’s
UnificationMinistry,whichisresponsibleforinter-Korean
affairs, declined to comment.)
China, in particular, offends him. As a communist nation that
now has a quasi-free market riddled with corruption, China is
a cautionary tale of what could happen if North Korea opened
its borders. If you ask Cao de Benós, China is a far worse place
than the U.S. At least America is honest about what it is.
He’s not finished. This is important. “I will write a letter,”
hesays,“andrenouncemypositionimmediately.Inthevery
momentthatweallowprivatehousing,orprivateland,or
privatizeeducation,orhealthcare.”
Recent months haveonly reinforced CaodeBenós’s
devotion. I tried calling him for comment about the pandemic
and Kim Jong Un’s health. He was slow to reply, then apolo-
gized when he did, saying that he was “completely busy with
somanyinterviews.”Heofferedtoreplytoquestionsbyemail.
WhilemuchoftheWesternworld,includingSpain,hasbeen
ravagedbyCovid-19,NorthKorea,hewrote,iscoronavirus-free.
OnJan.15,hesays,hewasaskedbyPyongyangto“helpsecure
medicalequipmentfortheprevention”ofthevirus.OnJan.22,
NorthKoreacloseditsbordersandimposeda 30-dayquarantine
onanyoneenteringthecountry.CaodeBenóssaysthegovern-
mentmass-produced masks and disinfectants; mobilized the
army to “develop disinfection duties and tightly control the bor-
ders”; reached out to friendly nations and nongovernmental
organizations for test kits and personal protective equipment;
and put 20,000 people into quarantine.
“There has not been a single death or a case of a patient
with Covid-19,” he says. Although that assertion was con-
firmed by the World Health Organization’s representative in
Pyongyang, it seems impossible that this is true. North Korea
bordersChina,itslargesttradingpartner.
Contrastthattowhathe’sseenathome,ina societythat
prioritizes freedom of movement and the health of its busi-
nesses and isn’t easily locked down. “An absolute disaster,”
he says. As of late April, Spain was still averaging more than
300 deaths a day, lacked adequate PPE, and was experienc-
ing a shortage of some basic foods. Cao de Benós says when
he visited a public hospital in mid-February, he was the only
one wearing an advanced protective mask. “The fact that the
politicians, doctors, and generals of the army and police in
charge of overseeing the measures got the virus demonstrates
how incapable they are to keep the population safe,” he says.
Regarding Kim’s health, he wrote, “there is no official com-
ment.” However, “I can say that those rumors are false.” He
pointed out that the source of the claim, which cited an anon-
ymous person, was Daily NK, which I’d heard him complain
about before. As evidence that it wasn’t true, he pointed me to
a photo he’d shared with his 60,000 Twitter followers. It was of
Kim smiling and looking as healthy as Kim ever looks, next to
fighter planes—allegedly taken the day before this health crisis.
“Itis alsointerestingtoseeourMarshalKimJongUnwatching
theAirForcedrillinperfecthealthjustthedaybeforehewas
supposedtohavethe‘Heartoperation,’” Cao de Benós wrote.
During my visit, I’d forgotten to ask if he and Kim had met.
“I had the chance to shake his hand and be close to him in dif-
ferent state events,” he said, adding that a few letters had been
exchanged through intermediaries. “But unfortunately I do not
have a close friendship like President Trump says he has.” <BW>
�With Li Jing, Sharon Cho, and Kanga Kong49RegardingKim’shealth,hewrote,“thereisnoofficialcomment.”
However, “I can say that those rumors are false”