Two South Korean citizens detained in North Korea on charges of spying have been sentenced to hard labor for life, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said Tuesday.
North Korea first announced the arrests of Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil in March. The two are among four South Koreans known to be detained by the communist country.
North Korea alleged that Kim, a former missionary, and Choe, a businessman, were spying for South Korea’s intelligence service and accused them of committing crimes of “terrorism” and bringing in “large quantities of forged currency,” a North Korean official told CNN in March on condition of anonymity.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has denied North Korea’s charge against the men.
North Korean authorities presented the two men to CNN’s Will Ripley to be interviewed after Pyongyang invited Ripley to the country in May. With government minders present during the interviews, the two men gave elaborate confessions with similar talking points.