A Christian missionary captured in North Korea appeared at a news conference on Thursday, apologizing for committing an "anti-state" crime, the New York Times reported.
Kim Jong-uk, a 50-year-old missionary from South Korea, called himself a "criminal" for working with the South's National Intelligence Service.
Kim also said he entered North Korea with Bibles and other religious material on Oct. 7 and was arrested the next day. Before that, he ran an underground church in Dadong, a Chinese city just over the North Korean border. Through the church, he would collect information from North Korean refugees and give it to the National Intelligence Service, which paid him thousands of dollars.
"I intended to change North Korea into a religious country and demolish the current North Korean government and political system," he said. "I received cash from the National Intelligence Service and helped arrange North Koreans to spy for it."
In November, officials in North Korea announced they captured a spy from South Korea and refused to identify him until Thursday. As the Times notes, it is unknown of Kim was speaking honestly or coached into calling himself a "criminal" at the press conference in Pyongyang, which journalists from around the world were invited to attend.
Similar news conferences in North Korea have been held in the past, specifically for Kenneth Bae, an American missionary that's been held in the country since 2012. Though he has asked the U.S. for help, he also apologized for his "crimes" against North Korea, which resulted in a 15-year sentence of hard labor.
After finding out about Kim's detainment, South Korea called for his immediate release and demanded he have access to legal representation.
