China's Arrest of North Korea Spy Reveals Cracks in Xi-Kim Alliance
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Foreign Ministry with emailed requests for comment.
The arrest offered a rare glimpse into strains between China and North Korea, its only treaty ally. China props up the isolated nation's economy to prevent a refugee crisis and because the reclusive country serves as a buffer between China and U.S. ally South Korea, home to tens of thousands of American troops.
Kim Jong Un's growing ties with Russia-including arms transfers and the deployment of North Korean troops to the Ukrainian front-are seen as a growing thorn in Beijing's side. While Chinese President Xi Jinping has tolerated this relationship, it could invite additional U.S.-allied military activity to the region and raise the risk of conflict on China's doorstep.
The alleged North Korean spy was recently apprehended by Chinese authorities for stealing Chinese military technology, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited sources familiar with the matter as saying in an April 29 report.
He was among an unknown number of IT workers who had been sent by an organization under the Workers' Party of Korea's Munitions Industry Department to the northeast Chinese city of Liaoning.
According to a source familiar with North Korean affairs, the suspect fled his local accommodation last month with a laptop and subsequently went missing. He was later arrested by Chinese public security authorities.
During the investigation a large amount of hacked information relating to Chinese weaponry and military technology was reportedly discovered on the suspect's laptop. The individual was said to have confessed during interrogation.
Once North Korea became aware of the arrest, it recalled all other IT personnel who had been working at the same location, likely out of fear that their intelligence-gathering operations would be discovered, a source said.
The Munitions Industry Department is a United Nations-sanctioned entity that oversees North Korean weapons production and R&D programs.
It is well known that IT personnel dispatched by the Munitions Industry Department or the Reconnaissance General Bureau to locations like China and Southeast Asia often live together in dormitories and operate under false identities online.
North Korean-linked hacking groups have repeatedly attempted to steal information from defense agencies and companies worldwide.
That the story was carried by Chinese media suggests it was published with the implicit approval of the authorities, given the country's tightly controlled and heavily censored media environment.
A North Korean source told Yonhap: "This incident shows that North Korea has expanded the scope of its hacking operations to include China in its bid to strengthen its military capabilities."
Yonhap quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun as saying: "I would like to emphasize that China and North Korea are friendly neighboring countries, and we maintain normal exchanges, cooperation, and personnel interactions."
One of the news agency's sources said the suspect remains in detention. It is unclear what charges he may face or whether Chinese authorities will make the case public.
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