Russia has decided to expel a Japanese diplomat based in Vladivostok after he allegedly obtained classified documents on Moscow’s cooperation with an “Asia-Pacific” country, which experts told NK News could refer to as North Korea.

In a press release on Monday, the Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Japanese consul Motoko Tatsunori was caught “red-handed” receiving classified information about “Russia's cooperation with one of the countries of the Asia-Pacific” and the “impact of western sanctions on the Primorsky region.”