By Yi Whan-woo
A North Korean defector was arrested Monday on charges of leaking information to the government in Pyongyang about other citizens who fled here from the Stalinist state, announced the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The country's spy agency said the 33-year-old suspect, identified as Yoo, served as an employee of the department for North Korean defectors under the Seoul municipal government since June 2011.
It claimed that Yoo handed over names, residential addresses, and other information of some 10,000 people who escaped from the regime.
This is the first time a defector-turned-civil servant has been caught engaging in spying activities, according to the NIS.
"We're probing whether the suspect got the job intentionally to operate as a North Korean agent," a NIS official said.
According to investigators, Yoo escaped the North in 2004 and acquired citizenship here the same year. However, they added that the suspect has visited China frequently and contacted the North Korean intelligence service afterwards.
Yoo was assigned to the department for defectors after passing the exam in 2011 to serve at the municipal government office. The suspect visited the homes of other defectors up to three times a week and also worked as a telephone counselor, the NIS said.
"The case is very serious because the suspect has dealt with confidential information over the past few years," an investigator said.
A North Korean defector was arrested Monday on charges of leaking information to the government in Pyongyang about other citizens who fled here from the Stalinist state, announced the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The country's spy agency said the 33-year-old suspect, identified as Yoo, served as an employee of the department for North Korean defectors under the Seoul municipal government since June 2011.
It claimed that Yoo handed over names, residential addresses, and other information of some 10,000 people who escaped from the regime.
This is the first time a defector-turned-civil servant has been caught engaging in spying activities, according to the NIS.
"We're probing whether the suspect got the job intentionally to operate as a North Korean agent," a NIS official said.
According to investigators, Yoo escaped the North in 2004 and acquired citizenship here the same year. However, they added that the suspect has visited China frequently and contacted the North Korean intelligence service afterwards.
Yoo was assigned to the department for defectors after passing the exam in 2011 to serve at the municipal government office. The suspect visited the homes of other defectors up to three times a week and also worked as a telephone counselor, the NIS said.
"The case is very serious because the suspect has dealt with confidential information over the past few years," an investigator said.
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