Robert Egan

Last updated
Robert Egan
NationalityAmerican
Occupation Restaurateur
Known forDiplomacy between USA and North Korea
Website cubbysbarbeque.com

Robert "Bobby" Egan is an American restaurateur and an interlocutor between the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the United States. He is best known for providing public diplomacy services, political consultancy, and barbecue catering to the North Korean government.

Contents

Early life and education

Egan is the son of Walter Egan, a former U.S. Army bomb disposal technician who served in the Korean War and later went to work as a tar roofer. He grew up in Fairfield, New Jersey. According to Egan, he mowed lawns for drug trafficker and securities fraudster Bobby Vesco and was, at one point, approached by the FBI to become an informant. [1] [2] [3]

As a youth, Egan experienced problems with drug addiction. He graduated in 1976 from West Essex High School. [1] [3]

Career

Cubby's

In 1982, after several years of working as a roofer, Egan opened Cubby's, a roadside barbecue restaurant in Hackensack, New Jersey. [4] Egan partnered with longtime friend, Leonard Wehrle, on the establishment, as well as Wehrle's parents. [3] [lower-alpha 1]

In 1996 Egan filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Hackensack, claiming police officers had attempted to extort free food and money from his restaurant through a protection racket. Though his claims were ultimately dismissed, the city settled a separate claim Egan had made against police for $300,000. [3] Egan continued to be a strong critic of city police chief Ken Zisa. When Zisa was arrested for insurance fraud in 2010, Egan programmed Cubby's electronic billboard to scroll “POLICE CHIEF KEN ZISA ARRESTED FOR FRAUD HASTA LA¬VISTA CHIEF ZISA GOOD BYE GOOD RIDDANCE". [5]

Egan was offered the opportunity by the North Korean government to open a branch location of Cubby's in the DPRK in the mid-1990s but declined the offer. [3]

Diplomacy

According to Egan, Cubby's became popular with Vietnamese diplomats assigned to that nation's permanent mission to the United Nations in the 1980s. During this time Egan was still living with his parents. In his autobiography, Egan says that his father at one point discovered, in his room, communist literature given to him by staff of the Vietnamese delegation and expelled him from the family home. [1]

Egan's interactions with Vietnamese officials continued through the 1980s and, in 1990, he traveled to Vietnam for the first time. [4] Two years later Vietnamese diplomat Le Quang Khai attempted to defect to the United States. Though the U.S. government declined his request for asylum, Egan provided housing to the diplomat and helped generate enough negative publicity that the decision was reversed. [4] [3] [6]

In the early 1990s, Egan was introduced to members of the North Korean delegation to the United Nations by his Vietnamese contacts. According to Egan, the North Koreans requested he help them improve their reputation and standing within the United States. Egan arranged for the diplomats to attend a New York Nets game and to tour the team's locker room. Later, during the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, Egan catered for the DPRK women's soccer team and also attempted to secure a sponsorship for the team with a sports drink manufacturer. [3] Egan's relationship with the DPRK delegation became increasingly cordial and he began to frequently organize hunting and fishing trips for North Korean diplomats. [3] Egan traveled to North Korea in 1994 and, again, in 1996. [4] To provide cover for the trips, he was appointed – by the DPRK government – president of a non-existent entity known as the USA-DPRK Trade Council. [3] In 2002 Egan contacted the New York Times at the behest of the DPRK mission to arrange an exclusive interview with North Korean ambassador Han Song Ryol, about that country's nascent nuclear weapons program. [4] Egan also arranged, via a friend who was an oral surgeon, for a secure operating theater for Han when the ambassador needed to have a dental operation. [4] During this time he made additional trips to the DPRK and offered advice on negotiating with the United States to the North Korean government, though the seriousness with which this advice was considered has been a matter of dispute. [3]

According to Egan, in addition to providing political advice and catering services to the North Korean UN delegation, he has also regularly collected information about DPRK diplomatic staff for U.S. intelligence agencies. [3] Following the death of Kim Jong Il, Egan advised North Korean officials against the elevation of Kim Jong Un to a higher leadership post in the DPRK. He later opined that "I think His Excellency [Kim Jong-il] will be remembered as someone who opened the door to the West, and that’s something we didn’t have under his father". [7]

Other contacts

According to Egan, he was also friends with Nizar Hamdoun, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations under Saddam Hussein; Hamdoun and Egan's daughters reportedly took karate lesson together. [4]

Criticism

Jack Pritchard, a former staff member at the National Security Council who has been involved in negotiations in which Egan has participated, has criticized him for "inserting himself into affairs of state – in the diplomacy and negotiations". [4] According to Pritchard, he stopped associating himself with Egan after he learned Egan had been taping their conversations, a claim which Egan has confirmed. [3]

Egan himself claims he has been threatened "repeatedly" by the U.S. government with prosecution under the Logan Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act. [8]

Writing

In 2010 Egan co-wrote Eating with the Enemy with Kurt Pitzer. [8] The book, which details his diplomatic maneuvers, was published in 2010. [8] Eating with the Enemy was optioned to HBO and turned into a screenplay by Pat Healy. James Gandolfini, who had been slated to star in the movie, died before production could begin and work on the movie was suspended. [9]

Personal life

John McCreary, a former U.S. Senate committee staffer who once interviewed Egan, has described him as friendly and generous and said "he just makes friends easily". [4] In an article on Egan, the Washington Post described him as "intense, garrulous and profane" and said he resembles a character from The Sopranos . [4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In the early 2000s, Egan bought-out the Wehrle's share of Cubby's. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Jong Il</span> Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011

Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea. He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Korea–Russia relations</span> Bilateral relations

North Korea–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between Russia and North Korea. The Soviet Union was the first to recognize North Korea on October 12, 1948, shortly after the proclamation, as the sole legitimate authority in all of Korea. The Soviet Union supported North Korea during the Korean War. North Korea was founded as part of the Communist bloc, and received major Soviet military and political support. The comprehensive personality cult around North Korea's ruling family was heavily influenced by Stalinism. China and the Soviet Union competed for influence in North Korea during the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, as North Korea tried to maintain good relations with both countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongolia–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Mongolia–North Korea relations are the historic and current bilateral relations between Mongolia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Eating With the Enemy is a book by Robert Egan and Kurt Pitzer. It was published in 2010 and describes Egan's friendship with Han Song-ryol, the North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations. Egan was contacted by the Koreans in New York, who had known about his relationship with Le Quang Khai—a Vietnamese Communist diplomat who eventually defected to the United States. Egan and Han established a relationship, including fishing trips and meals at Egan's restaurant "Cubby's" in Hackensack, New Jersey, in order to provide a diplomatic and commercial back channel in the United States where national diplomacy continuously failed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambodia–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Cambodia–North Korea relations refers to the bilateral relationship between Cambodia and the DPRK. The DPRK has an embassy in Phnom Penh; Cambodia has an embassy in Pyongyang. The North Korean embassy is located on Sihanouk Boulevard, Phnom Penh, directly adjacent to the Prime Minister's residence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesia–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Indonesia–North Korea relations refers to bilateral relations between Indonesia and North Korea. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1961. Indonesia is one of the very few countries that still tries to maintain cordial relations with North Korea, despite the widespread international sanctions and resulting isolation imposed on North Korea, compounded with the negative reputation of its human rights, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and Indonesia's publicly more robust engagement and partnership with South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Malaysia–North Korea relations were once strong but deteriorated following the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Equatorial Guinea–North Korea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Equatorial Guinea and North Korea. While Equatorial Guinea has no representation in North Korea, it is one of few African states to have a North Korean embassy, located in the capital of Malabo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambia–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Gambia–North Korea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the Gambia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), known as North Korea in the Western World. Hong Son-phy is the accredited ambassador to Banjul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuba–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Cuba–North Korea relations are the bilateral relations between Cuba and North Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Kim Jong-nam</span> 2017 murder in Malaysia

On 13 February 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of the dictator of North Korea Kim Jong Un, was assassinated at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. He had been living abroad since his exile from North Korea in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–North Korea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Egypt–North Korea relations refer to the bilateral relations between Egypt and North Korea. Egypt has an embassy in Pyongyang whilst North Korea has an embassy in Cairo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit</span> Meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un

The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, commonly known as the Singapore Summit, was a summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore, on June 12, 2018. It was the first-ever meeting between leaders of North Korea and the United States. They signed a joint statement, agreeing to security guarantees for North Korea, new peaceful relations, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, recovery of soldiers' remains, and follow-up negotiations between high-level officials. Both leaders also met separately with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choe Son-hui</span> North Korean politician (born 1964)

Choe Son-hui is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. Previously the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, she was appointed Minister on 11 June 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position and is one of few North Korean women holding a high-level office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International reactions to the 2018 North Korea–United States summit</span>

The leaders of some countries or their representatives or spokespersons released public statements about the 2018 North Korea–United States summit. The summit received a mixed international reaction, with many countries expressing praise or hope for achieving a peace deal from the summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit</span> Meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump

The 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit, commonly known as the Hanoi Summit, was a two-day summit meeting between North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. president Donald Trump, held at the French Colonial Hôtel Métropole in Hanoi, Vietnam, during February 27–28, 2019. It was the second meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States following their first meeting in Singapore the year prior.

Jong Kyong-thaek is a North Korean politician. He served as the Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), an alternate member of the Politburo of the WPK, and a member of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit</span> Meeting at the Korean Demilitarised Zone

The 2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit was a one-day summit held at the Korean Demilitarized Zone between North Korean chairman Kim Jong Un, U.S. president Donald Trump, and South Korean president Moon Jae-in, following the 2019 G20 Osaka summit. Trump briefly stepped over the border at 3:45 PM (GMT+9) on June 30, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president had set foot on North Korean soil. It was also the second time since the end of the Korean War in 1953 that a North Korean leader entered the South's territory, following the April 2018 inter-Korean summit. Senior White House advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also attended the summit, with Ivanka Trump and U.S. envoy to South Korea Harry B. Harris Jr. holding a meeting with Kim later broadcast on North Korean television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Korea–South Africa relations</span> Bilateral relations

North Korea–South Africa relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Africa. North Korea maintains an embassy in Pretoria, while the South African ambassador to China is also accredited to North Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reactions to the death of Kim Jong Il</span>

Many countries, organizations, and individuals issued reactions to the death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011. According to CNN, reactions were "somewhat muted" in comparison to deaths of other world leaders. Just a few countries reacted immediately after Kim's death was announced on North Korea's KCTV. Some countries, like the United States, took the opportunity to comment on their relationship with South Korea. South Korea decided not to offer official condolences, mirroring both worsened relations after the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong and its position after the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994. Chinese Foreign Ministry called Kim a "great leader" and added that Beijing would continue to offer its support. Japan expressed condolences and said it hoped Kim's death would not affect the region adversely. Reactions in Europe were "a mix of hope and watchfulness". In North Korea, the official reaction was grief and support for the succession of Kim Jong Un.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Egan, Robert (2010). Eating with the Enemy: How I Waged Peace with North Korea from My BBQ Shack in Hackensack. St. Martin's Press. pp. 10–17. ISBN   978-1429923682.
  2. ↑ Helton, Jordan (November 2, 2011). "Top 5 intriguing extradition cases". Public Radio International . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Mead, Rebecca (October 8, 2007). "OUR MAN IN PYONGYANG". The New Yorker . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Carlson, Peter (April 9, 2008). "Kitchen Diplomacy". Washington Post . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Zisa clan a dynasty of public service, iron-fist politics". The Record . July 14, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Henry, Samantha (July 19, 2013). "NJ man specialist in barbecue, N. Korean diplomacy". The Oklahoman . Associated Press . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  7. ↑ Schneiderman, R.M. (December 21, 2011). "The North Korea Whisperer: Rib-Cooking New Jersey Restaurateur Bobby Egan". The Daily Beast . Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 Egan, Robert. "TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR BOBBY". Eating with the Enemy. Thomas Dunne Books. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ "James Gandolfini: 'Eating With the Enemy' was on his unfinished plate". Entertainment Weekly . June 20, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.