North Korean state media Uriminzokkiri on Monday blasted defector-activist Kang Chol-hwan, accusing the author of shiftlessness and a criminal history.

Kang is the co-author of The Aquariums of Pyongyang and the head of the North Korea Strategy Center, an organization dedicated to the democratization of North Korea and unification of Korean Peninsula. Formerly on the staff of South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, Kang is known for his media appearances and his book, about his experiences growing up in North Korea’s Yodok concentration camp, led to his meeting President George W. Bush in 2005.

Kang, who defected in 1987, arrived