Defense Minister
Lee Sang-hee |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee pledged Thursday to implement measures to prevent soldiers from being seduced by North Korean spies.
Lee chaired a meeting of top military brass following the arrest of a female North Korean spy, who disguised herself as a defector from the communist North, to devise methods to prevent leaks of classified military information.
The 34-year-old suspect, identified as Won Jeong-hwa, gathered and passed classified information to North Korea, including the locations of key military installations and lists of high-profile North Korean defectors since 2001.
Won seduced active military officers or non-commissioned officers under the direction of a North Korean intelligence agency, according to prosecutors and the Defense Security Command (DSC).
She met the soldiers while delivering anti-communist lectures at military bases or through wedding agencies. According to the authorities, Won's infiltration into the South was made under the direction of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
She is the first alleged North Korean spy arrested in the South since 2006, and the second in a decade. Security experts say the decade-long ``sunshine policy'' of engaging the North under previous liberal governments has helped loosen the sense of anti-communism of South Korean troops.
``I express deep regret over the latest spy case since it involved active military officers,'' the defense minister said at the meeting attended by 10 military chiefs. Participants included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the commander of the Marine Corps and the DSC commander.
``This incident proves North Korea is still making strenuous efforts to communize South Korea and their spy activities are rampant in our society,'' he said. ``Anyone in the military should recognize he or she could be a target of North Korean agents.''
Lee said it was ``unacceptable'' that an active military officer colluded with the spy even after he was aware of her identity.
The military plans to hold special education sessions for soldiers in field units on North Korean spies and ways to deal with them from Aug. 29 to Sept. 12, according to ministry officials.
The military will also strengthen measures to manage and monitor North Korean defectors by sharing more information on them with intelligence and other related agencies, they said.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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