MOSCOW, Russia has extended the detention period of a South Korean national arrested in Moscow on suspected espionage charges for another three months until September, a source said Tuesday.

The South Korean, surnamed Baek, has been held in the Lefortovo detention facility in the Russian capital since late February on charges that he handed over classified information to foreign intelligence agencies.

Baek had initially been under a three-month detention, but a court extended it until mid-June. With the detention period renewed for another three months, Baek will remain in custody until Sept. 15, according to the source.

The South Korean government has been in talks with the Russians over Baek’s detention.

Baek, a missionary with a South Korean Christian aid group named the Global Love Rice Sharing Foundation, was working in Vladivostok at the time of the arrest, mostly engaged in helping North Korean defectors flee and providing them with other assistance.

Russia has not provided details about Baek’s sp
ying charges and why he was arrested. The aid group claims Baek has been wrongfully accused.

Source: Yonhap News Agency