Report: South Korean jailed in Russia for espionage is a missionary

A South Korean citizen arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage is a missionary supporting North Korean workers in the Russian Far East, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, the man, Baek Won-soon, had been transferred to Moscow from Vladivostok and was accused of handing over classified information to foreign intelligence agencies.

Baik, 53, was described as a “devoutly religious man” and the founder of a travel company in Vladivostok, Tass news agency reported.

TASS said this is the first time a South Korean has been detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage.

South Korean television network JTBC cited an unidentified acquaintance as saying Baek traveled from China to Vladivostok earlier this year to conduct missionary work for North Korean workers in Russia.

Yonhap quoted an unnamed acquaintance as saying he was also involved in helping North Koreans defect.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said its consulate has been providing assistance since it learned of the arrests. The company declined to provide further details as the matter is currently under investigation.

A spokesperson for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry told reporters on Tuesday that the South Korean government is communicating with Russia to ensure the safe return of its nationals.

U.S. and South Korean officials worry that Russia is ignoring U.N. resolutions and embracing new groups of North Korean workers at a time when relations between Moscow and Pyongyang are booming.

A 2017 U.N. Security Council resolution gave countries until 2019 to expel North Korean workers on the grounds that their labor is used to earn foreign currency for North Korea’s banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs. But thousands of people reportedly remain in China and Russia.

A South Korean government report last year said North Korean construction workers and loggers remained in Russia on student or tourist visas.

Relations between Moscow and North Korea have grown increasingly tense over accusations that Pyongyang has provided arms for the war in Ukraine, and between Russia and South Korea.

U.S. ally South Korea has condemned the Russian invasion and has offered economic and humanitarian aid to Kiev but so far no weapons.

Since the war in Ukraine, South Korea has issued a special travel warning urging its citizens not to travel to Russia.