Russia has arrested a South Korean citizen for the first time on charges of cyber espionage and transferred him from Vladivostok to Moscow for further investigation.
The development was first reported by Russian news agency TASS.
“During the investigation of an espionage case, South Korean citizen Baek Won-soon was identified and detained in Vladivostok and placed in custody by court order,” an anonymous source said.
Won-soon was accused of providing classified “top secret” information to unnamed foreign intelligence agencies.
According to the agency, Won-soon was arrested in Vladivostok earlier this year and transferred to Moscow late last month. He is said to be currently in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre. His arrest was extended for another three months, until June 15, 2024.
The detention center is also currently where American journalist Evan Gershkovich is being held, awaiting trial on espionage charges. Gershkovich denied the allegations.
The development comes amid growing geopolitical ties between Russia and North Korea, even as state-sponsored hacking groups associated with the latter have targeted the Kremlin to pursue their strategic intelligence-gathering missions.
The indictment comes days after the United States arrested a former Google engineer on charges of stealing proprietary information from the tech giant while secretly working for two China-based companies, including one he founded last year last before his resignation.