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Spy for N. Korea draws 10-year prison term

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A South Korean court Wednesday sentenced a college lecturer to 10 years in prison for spying for North Korea for 17 years.

Prosecutors said the man, identified only by his last name of Lee, was indicted in October on charges he provided information about South Korean military operations and other key facilities to North Korea after getting $30,000 from a North Korean agent based in India, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

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"The defendant had secretly acted as a spy, handing over military secrets to North Korean agents for 17 years. As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, he betrayed his country and threatened national security," the Suwon District Court said in its opinion.

The court said it handed down a less severe punishment because Lee indicated he tried to end the relationship and confessed his crime, Yonhap reported.

The court also ordered about $27,000 be confiscated from Lee.

Court officials said Lee was recruited in 1992 while studying in India, visited Pyongyang twice later and eventually became a member of the Communist Party.

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