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After ten years of secrecy where neither friends nor family have known what chef Ulrich Larsen, prematurely retired, has done on his travels, the bomb falls.
The two-part documentary Mullvaden, shown today on SVT and previewed by DN, reveals how he becomes increasingly deeply involved in the secret dictatorship’s gun and drug deals.
How did it end there?
According to Ulrich Larsen himself, dictatorships have been something that has compromised him for a long time.
– It started already in childhood when I met children from East Germany and I was horrified that they were not as free as me, he says in a video interview he does with DN somewhere in Denmark, more specific than what he does not want to be.
Interest revived Ten years ago, when he saw again the satirical documentary by Danish documentary maker Mads Brügger “The Red Chapel”. In the film, Brügger travels to North Korea with two comedians under the pretext that it is a cultural exchange. But the visit results in a film that the regime perceives as so degrading that Brügger is forbidden from visiting the country again.
Ulrich Larsen writes in an email to Brügger that he wants to help complete what Brügger started, namely, expose North Korea as a cruel and criminal dictatorship. He wonders if Brügger wants to film it as he approaches the country.
Brügger doubts and responds: if you arrive internationally, it interests me.
In the introduction That is why Larsen himself films when he joins the Union of Friends of North Korea in Denmark. He explains to the other members that he wants to publish the association’s work on YouTube, which they accept without hesitation. Young and new, he quickly joins the association of friends and the goal, to reach North Korea, he achieves in a fairly short time.
Once in the dictatorship, it is well received.
– They really liked me in North Korea. He respected the leaders, which is the key. All the films I made with tributes to the leaders were sent to North Korea and I received a medal. It made it easier for me and I was able to film openly in the country.
In North Korea, a crucial friendship begins with Spaniard Alejandro Cao de Benós, president of the North Korea International Friendship Federation. Cao De Benós, who has connections in the upper echelons of the regime, likes Danish and boasts about how it helps North Korea do business that circumvents harsh UN sanctions.
That people are hungry and oppressed in North Korea is called Cao de Benó fake news.
– Alejandro really loves North Korea, he has never seen a European so passionate about the country. He is willing to support the regime to the last drop of blood, says Ulrich Larsen.
Cao De Benós draws closer to Ulrich Larsen and makes sure to appoint him president of an association of friends that represents all of Scandinavia. But Cao de Benós is not satisfied with the association that comes with declarations of love for North Korea. He wants Ulrich Larsen to find people who can invest in North Korea, who are in dire need of money due to the UN sanctions.
Is starting now getting interesting, filmmaker Brügger realizes, and hires a former Danish criminal to play the role of “Mr. James,” to delve into North Korean business methods.
“Mr James” introduces Cao de Benós as a Scandinavian oil billionaire interested in acquiring weapons to attack Israel.
The Spanish is immediately in the notes, he trusts Ulrich and therefore also “Mr James”, without any background checks.
– I was the one who endured and why should he fool me, who praised the leaders? Building trust is one of my strengths that I have discovered during this time. So North Korea is really under pressure. If you see business opportunities, don’t hesitate, says Ulrich Larsen.
Still in shock about what follows. Alejandro Cao de Benós openly brags about how North Korea can shake up everything from tanks and missiles to drugs. When “Mr James” places a large order for weapons and methamphetamine, Cao de Béno’s comment is: it’s easy.
Even more detailed scenes follow when the deal will be completed in North Korea. In a basement room in a ramshackle area on the outskirts of the capital, Pyongyang, Ulrich Larsen and “Mr James” can search a catalog of photographs of various weapons that the regime may offer. It’s everything from missiles to tanks. Price and range are listed, as in any Hobbex catalog.
– I was surprised when I saw all the weapons they could sell. All of that was terrifying. How we were taken to a basement in a run-down area, to a luxurious room with large doors. It was scary, but I also became fully present and looked for emergency exits. I had my eyes on everything.
But Ulrich Larsen and “Mr James” have earned the trust of their hosts. The contracts are written to the effect that a factory that makes weapons and methamphetamine will be built outside of North Korea, helping with expertise, production parts, and manpower. The factory will be located in Uganda.
Soon after, “Mr James”, Ulrich Larsen and representatives from North Korea meet in Uganda. Details of the factory are chiseled. “Mr James” has looked like an island in Lake Victoria for the factory, which is planned to be underground. Upstairs there should be a luxury hotel with a pool.
– We can help with everything from small ammunition to large missiles, says one of the North Koreans in the documentary.
Photo: SVT
In association with African leaders devise plans to expel the thousands who live on the island. The Ugandan government representatives are in the notes and bless the project, which is called “tourism project”, with a prayer.
Soon there will also be an idea for a triangular agreement that includes a businessman from Jordan who wants to sell oil, despite sanctions, to North Korea. “Mr. James” is expected to pay the Jordanian money for the oil, in return North Korea will send workers and products to the factory in Uganda.
In the end, the Danes are so entangled in fictitious businesses that “Mr James” goes underground and Ulrich Larsen reveals to Alejandro Cao de Benó that he is a mole.
The Dane is relieved that ten years have passed in secrecy.
– Nothing has been easy. What has now been reduced to two hours has been going on for ten years. During the ten years that I have had a son during whose life I have been a mole. I’ve kept everything a secret from family and friends, it’s good that it finally comes out.
What do you hope the documentary will lead to?
– I hope it focuses on how North Korea conducts illegal business that violates UN sanctions. How high rankings make money for their own purposes. There is so much in North Korea that is wrong. They have a population of 23 million people who are trapped like in a container, they can’t go anywhere.
He experiences to many North Koreans are brainwashed. They believe in the ideology of support for the “juche” state, which means that the country is self-sufficient and does not need anyone else. And they accept that arms and the army come first, that this is what protects the country, despite the economic difficulties.
– I hope that one day North Korea will be a good country with human rights and people can walk out the door without being afraid.
He himself will not be available for the time after the documentary is released.
– It is my secret what is happening to me and my family now. I feel safe and secure. Now I long to see how the documentary is received.
He is proud of how far they have gone to show how dirty North Korea is doing.
– I’m glad that Mads, who can’t go to North Korea, gave me the opportunity. Now I won’t be able to go there for the next few years either. But maybe in 20 years, if the country changes for the better and the people are free.
Read more: Back to Paradise: Visiting a Family in North Korea
