Report: Anti-weapons activists in South dealt with North Korea for years
South Korean authorities have identified four suspects in a North Korea espionage case and charged them with following orders from Pyongyang. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The South Korean defendants charged with following orders from the North Korean government to prevent Seoul's acquisition of U.S. weapons were found to have received dozens of directives from Pyongyang, according to a South Korean press report.
South Korean investigators identified four suspects in connection to the case. Earlier this week, local reports said three out of the four suspects were placed in police custody. The fourth suspect was deemed a low-flight risk.
Kukmin Ilbo reported Friday that one of the defendants had a flash drive that contained more than 80 messages from North Korea that were encrypted using steganography, a technique of hiding confidential information within a regular text file.
The defendant had received the directives from Pyongyang's Cultural Exchange Bureau over the past four years. The flash drive was uncovered during a house search by authorities May 27, the report said.
North Korea's Cultural Exchange Bureau operates under the ruling Workers' Party. According to South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, the aim of the North Korean agency is to send spies to infiltrate the South, build an underground party and plan for an armed uprising in the event of an emergency.
The flash drive was elaborately hidden in other material. The evidence was wrapped in aluminum foil, which had been sealed inside a plastic bag, an envelope, a paper bag, then stuffed inside a blanket at the suspect's residence, according to Kukmin Ilbo.
Documents on the flash drive included a report on the activities of a minor South Korean political party, and a list of potential new South Korean recruits to the North Korean operation. About 60 South Korean individuals were being targeted for recruitment, the report said.
South Korean authorities have identified four suspects in a North Korea espionage case and charged them with following orders from Pyongyang. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The South Korean defendants charged with following orders from the North Korean government to prevent Seoul's acquisition of U.S. weapons were found to have received dozens of directives from Pyongyang, according to a South Korean press report.
South Korean investigators identified four suspects in connection to the case. Earlier this week, local reports said three out of the four suspects were placed in police custody. The fourth suspect was deemed a low-flight risk.
Kukmin Ilbo reported Friday that one of the defendants had a flash drive that contained more than 80 messages from North Korea that were encrypted using steganography, a technique of hiding confidential information within a regular text file.
The defendant had received the directives from Pyongyang's Cultural Exchange Bureau over the past four years. The flash drive was uncovered during a house search by authorities May 27, the report said.
North Korea's Cultural Exchange Bureau operates under the ruling Workers' Party. According to South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, the aim of the North Korean agency is to send spies to infiltrate the South, build an underground party and plan for an armed uprising in the event of an emergency.
The flash drive was elaborately hidden in other material. The evidence was wrapped in aluminum foil, which had been sealed inside a plastic bag, an envelope, a paper bag, then stuffed inside a blanket at the suspect's residence, according to Kukmin Ilbo.
Documents on the flash drive included a report on the activities of a minor South Korean political party, and a list of potential new South Korean recruits to the North Korean operation. About 60 South Korean individuals were being targeted for recruitment, the report said.
Defendants continued to deny wrongdoing, said the charges were "inflated" and that they have been framed as criminals.
South Korean authorities have said the defendants held demonstrations and condemned the acquisition of U.S. F-35 fighter jets in public spaces, according to KBS.
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