Russia in ’close contact’ with Seoul over S. Korean detained in Moscow

러 “한국인 구금, 한국과 긴밀 접촉 영사접견 검토“ In other news. Moscow is reportedly in close communication with Seoul to work on possibly granting consular access to a South Korean missionary currently detained in Russia on espionage charges. Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji tells us more. Russia’s foreign ministry has said it’s in close contact with the South Korean government on the issue of a South Korean man detained in Moscow, on espionage allegations. Its ministry’s spokesperson said Wednesday local time that at the request of the South Korean embassy in Moscow, the possibility of consular access to the detained South Korean man, named Baek Won-soon --is being worked on. “The question is how ready they are for mutually respectful dialogue to discuss these complex issues, and most importantly, everything depends on the countries’ focus on effectively resolving these complex issues in a mutually respectful manner.“ In response, South Korea’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that it has been providing consular assistance to the man since the government became aware of the arrest. It added that it has been communicating with Russian authorities on the matter, and that the South Korean ambassador to Russia met with a senior official at Russia’s foreign ministry the day before. “We will continue to engage in necessary communications with Russia, so that our citizen can safely return home to his family as soon as possible.“ This comes after Russia’s state-run media outlet, Tass news agency reported Monday that a South Korean was arrested in Vladivostok earlier this year, for “handing over classified information to foreign intelligence agencies.“ According to Tass, he was trasferred to Moscow from Vladivostok in late February, and is now being held in Lefortovo Prison, where a court ordered his detention to be extended until June 15th. Sources in Vladivostok have reportedly said the man was a religious worker and that he had been indirectly supporting North Korean laborers working in Russia, helping them escape. This is the first reported case involving a South Korean national, but is just the latest in a series of arrests of foreigners made by the Russian authorities, including Evan Gershkovich --an American Wall Street Journal reporter, who was detained in Russia last March. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #Russia #Korean #Detain #Arrest #Espionage #대한민국 #러시아 #한국인 #구금 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-03-14, 18:00 (KST)