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SEOUL, March 12 (UPI) -- A South Korean national was arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage, Seoul's Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday. The arrest was first reported on Monday night by Russia's state news agency TASS, citing law enforcement sources.
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The South Korean citizen, Baek Won-soon, 53, is being held at Lefortovo detention center in Moscow under investigation for passing classified state information to a foreign intelligence agency, TASS said.
He was arrested in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok last month and transferred to Moscow, where a court on Monday extended his term of detention until June 15.
The report added that the arrest marked the first time a South Korean citizen has been detained in Russia for espionage.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrest on Tuesday and said its diplomatic mission has been providing consular assistance.
"The government hopes that our citizen will be able to return safely to his family members as soon as possible, and to this end, we are communicating with the Russian side as necessary," ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told reporters at a press briefing.
He added that there were no plans to dispatch additional diplomatic personnel to Russia to assist in the case. The ministry did not provide further details about the identity of the detained South Korean.
News agency Yonhap reported that Baek was a missionary working with a humanitarian organization that helped North Korean defectors, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The Yonhap report added that Russian authorities had arrested Baek's wife but later released her. She is currently in South Korea.
A TASS report on Tuesday said that Baek was the founder and director of a travel agency based in Russia, citing law enforcement agencies. He had been living in a "four-star hotel" in the center of Vladivostok before his arrest, the report added.
Relations between Moscow and Seoul have cooled since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. After South Korea participated in Western-led boycotts against Russia, Moscow designated it as an "unfriendly" state.
North Korea and Russia, meanwhile, have grown closer in the wake of a September meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The North has been accused by Seoul and Washington of supplying weapons to Russia, while it is believed to be receiving advanced technology for its space and missile programs in return.
Russia has detained other foreign nationals on a variety of charges over the past year, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Geshkovich.
Geshkovich, who was arrested last March while reporting in Yekaterinburg, Russia, is also being held in Lefortovo prison while he awaits trial. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years on espionage charges that are widely considered baseless and politically motivated.
