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[Global Times Comprehensive Report] According to the Washington Post, a 31-page indictment released by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York on the 16th local time showed that Terry, a former analyst at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and current senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was accused of acting as a South Korean "agent" and working for the South Korean intelligence department, and accepting luxury goods in return.

Sumi Terry profile picture source: Korean media

The report said that over the years, Terry had met with managers of the South Korean National Intelligence Service, who dined with her at high-end restaurants in New York and Washington, D.C., and bought her several luxury items. Terry provided intelligence to South Korean intelligence officials and gave them access to U.S. congressional staff and senior U.S. government officials. According to the indictment, Terry is a U.S. citizen who was born in Seoul and grew up in Virginia and Hawaii.

Terry's lawyer said in a statement that the prosecution's allegations were "baseless." South Korea's National Intelligence Service said on the 17th that it was in close communication with its American counterparts on this issue.

The Korea Times website quoted an international relations expert on the 17th as saying that a few days before the indictment against Terry was exposed, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and US President Biden jointly passed the "Guidelines on Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula" during the NATO Washington Summit. It can be inferred that although the United States seems to be strengthening the US-ROK alliance as a political reward to South Korea, it is also trying to distance itself from South Korea's interests. The prosecution of Terry is seen as putting pressure on South Korea and is a signal from Washington that Seoul is asking Seoul to make real concessions, especially on issues such as negotiations on the sharing of defense costs between the two countries. The expert added: "South Korea may mistakenly believe that an alliance with the United States will greatly enhance the strength of the United States. On the contrary, Washington believes that if there are greater interests in the global chess game, South Korea can be used as a discarded pawn at any time." (Wang Cong)