South Korean authorities have indicted four ROK nationals on charges of taking payments and orders from Pyongyang, in connection with an investigation into an alleged North Korean spy ring in the southern city of Changwon.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office announced the indictments on Wednesday against three men and one woman for allegedly violating the country’s National Security Act. Police previously detained the suspects in late January, and they will now face trial at a yet-to-be-announced date. 

The four suspects allegedly formed an underground spy cell called the Vanguard of the People’s Independent Unification in Changwon in 2016, operating until last year, according to prosecutors in a press release. The large urban center near Busan is home to several defense industry firms.

Prosecutors say North Korean agents sent encrypted messages directly to the group, at least some of which were on USB flash drives that one suspect attempted to conceal during a police search of his residence.

At the direction of Pyongyang, the suspects allegedly conducted agitation campaigns in South Korea in an attempt to stir up anti-American and anti-Japanese sentiment and reported their progress back to the DPRK agents, according to prosecutors. The North Koreans also provided $7,000 to at least two of the suspects during a rendezvous in Southeast Asia.

The Changwon spies also targeted anti-DPRK activists as well, the press release states. One of the suspects, a 58-year-old unemployed man, executed orders from North Korea to arrange a one-person protest against a “leafleting” activist, surnamed Park. 

This may be a reference to Park Sang-hak, a high-profile defector-activist who often makes headlines for sending anti-regime leaflets, along with aid and other supplies, across the inter-Korean border using balloons. 

South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency and the Korean National Police Agency have conducted numerous investigations into pro-North Korea and espionage activity over the past several months, raiding alleged spy cells embedded within labor unions and politically progressive organizations. 

On Wednesday, the new head of South Korea’s ruling conservative party accused the country’s largest labor union of taking orders from North Korea, saying he was “declaring war” on what he called pro-DPRK groups operating in the ROK. His remarks drew accusations of red-baiting from the union.

Edited by Arius Derr