Ex N Korea prisoner says he was CIA spy

BERLIN: A former prisoner in North Korea has told German media that he used to spy for the CIA, seeking out nuclear secrets and taking pictures with a concealed wristwatch camera.

In a TV report by public broadcaster NDR, South Korean-born US citizen Kim Dong-chul, 67, recounts his former espionage operations, arrest and the abuse and torture he suffered behind bars.

"I approached military officers and scientists who I knew needed money," Kim says in the programme, showing crooked fingers that he claims were broken by soldiers’ boots during his interrogation. Kim Dong-chul was one of three American detainees freed by Pyongyang in May 2018, in the lead-up to the first summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The ex-prisoner has since told South Korean media that he used to gather information for the country’s National Intelligence Service and the US Central Intelligence Agency.