Ahn Hak-sop leaned on a cane and a dining table as he lowered himself at glacial speed to sit on the floor of his home. The husk of a man who once loved judo, he has been worn down by life in South Korea, an enemy nation that locked him up for more than four decades.
His speech was slow and slurred because of his dentures, but Ahn was eager to explain why he so hated the United States. From the words he used — "comrades,” "struggle,” "imperialism,” "colony” and "independence”— there was no mistaking the former North Korean soldier’s devotion to communism.
"I am still trying to figure out this thing called capitalism,” said Ahn, 95. Along the walls around him were papier-mache figures mocking Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty as money-loving, machine gun-toting, bloodthirsty warmongers. "People in South Korea don’t realize that they are slaves in a colony and their leaders can’t do anything without American approval.”
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