by STEVE HAN
A female North Korean spy, who allegedly disguised herself as a defector, was sentenced to three years in prison by the South Korean Supreme Court on Wednesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
South Korean prosecutors said that the 39-year-old spy, identified only by her last name Lee, used a special drug distributed by North Korea’s security department to “erase her memory and cheat the lie detector” during the intensive questioning by the South Korean spy agency, which puts all defectors through rigorous interrogation to prevent spying from North Korea.
According to the prosecution, North Korea sent Lee to monitor a defector carrying out anti-North Korean activities.
Lee initially confessed her spy activities in a lower court trial, but filed an appeal later to revise her testimony, claiming that she was forced to give her confession by the South Korean National Intelligence Service.
Lee’s lawyer, Park Joon-young, condemned the Supreme Court’s verdict, saying the ruling disregarded the truth.
“There’s no drug that erases one’s memory anywhere in the world,” Park reportedly said. “It’s disappointing that the ruling was based on false confessions.”
