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Staff Reporter
Won Jeong-hwa, a jailed North Korean spy, attempted to kill herself in her prison cell, Tuesday.
The 34-year-old spy, who has been behind bars since receiving a five-year jail term after being found guilty of violating the National Security Law, tried to hang herself with a towel in her cell. A correctional officer guarding her noticed and stopped her, according to Suwon Detention Center, Thursday.
Officers there said that Won had been depressed since appearing recently as a witness in the trials of her stepfather and former lover, an Army First Lieutenant Hwang, both of whom were also indicted on the same charges. They said she also showed signs of depression after seeing her daughter interviewed at the prison.
``She has worried about her family in North Korea and missed her daughter. The suicide attempt failed and her health is fine,'' an officer said.
Won came to the South in 2001 posing as a North Korean defector. She relayed military secrets from Army officers with whom she'd had sexual relations over the past five years to the North.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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