North Korea detains person it alleges is South Korean spy

Ko was arrested after crossing a river into North Korea from China in May, AFP and Kyodo reported.

Ko Hyon Chol is overcome with emotion as he is presented to reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

Ko Hyon-Chol was arrested for conspiring with South Korea’s spy agency and he appears to admit his crimes in this video.

A defector from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Friday that he has committed “severe treason” by attempting to abduct two DPRK girls to South Korea.

Ko said he fled from North Korea in 2013 and stayed in China for about a year before arriving in South Korea in 2014, lured by NIS agents operating in China near the border with the North.

North Korea staged a press conference where Ko confessed to spying on the state, South Korean newspaper Herald Business reported.

“We express deep regret for North Korea’s unilateral arrest of [South Korean nationals] and use of them in a press conference as part of its propaganda war”, the ministry said in its statement on Friday.

“The vice foreign ministers of the three countries shared the view that the North’s pursuit of nuclear and missile development poses a grave and direct threat to them, and hurts peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but the global community as a whole”, the ministry said in a press release.

“They will have in-depth talks on North Korea’s nuclear and other issues as well as what was discussed during the vice foreign ministerial meeting”, the ministry said. Seoul’s National Intelligence Service says it has no relations with Ko’s case.

It wasn’t immediately known whether and when he’ll be put on a trial.

North Korea is now detaining at least three other South Koreans, two Americans and one Canadian for alleged espionage, supervision and other anti-state activities.

“We strongly demand North Korea swiftly release our detained nationals, including Mr”.

In early May, South Korea instructed its foreign embassies to take extra precautions against possible North Korean attempts to kidnap or attack South Koreans overseas. Their animosities have deepened this year as North Korea has continued weapons tests including a fourth nuclear test explosion in January.