(2nd LD) Russia says in close communication with Seoul over detained S. Korean national
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS comments from Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman in paras 2-5)
MOSCOW/INCHEON, March 13 (Yonhap) — Russia is communicating closely with South Korea about the arrest of a South Korean national in Russia reportedly on espionage charges, and is considering allowing him consular counsel, its government official said Wednesday.
The comments from Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman at Russia’s foreign ministry, are the first official response from Moscow after media reports that the South Korean, surnamed Baek, has been held in a prison in the Russian capital since late February on spying charges.
“We’re in close contact with South Korea and considering granting the right to consular access,” Zakharova said in a briefing.
Zakharova declined to comment on Baek’s charges, saying that it’s a confidential matter.
Her comments came hours after South Korea’s top envoy to Russia, Lee Do-hoon, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and requested the Russian government actively cooperate to ensure Baek’s safety and protect his rights.
This photo, released by Russia’s TASS news agency, shows Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman at Russia’s foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The meeting took place at the South Korean embassy’s request.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported Monday that the South Korean, surnamed Baek, has been held in the Lefortovo detention facility in Moscow since late February on charges that he handed over classified information to foreign intelligence agencies.
It reported citing law information officials that a court extended his detention until mid-June.
The foreign ministry in Seoul said it has been in communication with Moscow over the matter and has been providing necessary consular assistance to the South Korean national.
Baek, a missionary with a South Korean Christian aid group named the Global Love Rice Sharing Foundation, was working in Vladivostok at the time of the arrest, mostly engaged in helping North Korean defectors flee and providing them with other assistance.
The aid group rejected the spying charges against Baek and claimed he has been wrongfully accused.
“Spying charges are either a misunderstanding, or have a political purpose,” Lee Sun-koo, head of the foundation, located in Incheon, west of Seoul, told Yonhap by phone.
Lee described Baek as a man who has been devoted to his job of providing basic needs like food, clothes and medicine to vulnerable groups and foreign laborers.
“Suspicions that he helped with North Koreans’ defection are all just outrageous,” Lee said.
Lee said the foundation will actively seek ways to get Baek released, starting with filing a petition calling for his release with the foreign ministry and the Russian Embassy in Seoul.
This undated photo by the TASS news agency shows the Russian foreign ministry building in Moscow. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
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