Russia has detained a South Korean citizen for the first time on cyber espionage charges and transferred him from Vladivostok to Moscow for further investigation.
The development was first reported by Russian news agency TASS.
“During an investigation into an espionage case, a South Korean citizen Baek Won-soon was identified and detained in Vladivostok on a court order,” an unnamed source said.
Yuen Chun is accused of providing confidential “top secret” information to unnamed foreign intelligence agencies.
Yuan Chun was detained in Vladivostok earlier this year and transferred to Moscow late last month, according to the agency. He is said to be currently being held in the Lefortovo pretrial detention center. His arrest was extended for another three months, until June 15, 2024.
The detention center is also where American journalist Evan Gershkovich is currently being held, awaiting trial on suspicion of espionage. Gershkovich has denied the accusations.
The development comes amid rapidly evolving geopolitical relations between Russia and North Korea, even as state-backed hacktivist groups linked to North Korea have targeted the Kremlin in their strategic intelligence-gathering missions.
Days earlier, the United States arrested a former Google engineer on charges that he stole proprietary information from the tech giant while working secretly for two Chinese companies, one of which he founded before resigning last year.
