Former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry accused of espionage for South Korea in exchange for designer handbags | Global News

A former CIA analyst has been accused of acting as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service in exchange for luxury items and dinners.

Sue Mi Terry, who previously worked on the White House National Security Council, allegedly failed to register as a foreign agent with the US Justice Department, according to an indictment revealed in Manhattan federal court.

South Korean intelligence officials supposedly gave her expensive handbags, a designer coat, and meals at top-rated restaurants. They also provided financial support for a Korean affairs program she was involved in.

The indictment claims that Terry worked as an agent for a decade starting in 2013, advocating for South Korean policies, sharing confidential information, and arranging meetings between US and South Korean officials.

She admitted to providing information to South Korean intelligence and passing notes from a meeting involving US secretary of state Antony Blinken, according to the FBI.

Her lawyer has denied the allegations, stating that they misrepresent her work as a scholar and analyst for the US. Terry, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, served in the US government from 2001 to 2011.

Prosecutors also claim that Terry did not disclose her covert work with South Korea to Congress, affecting the evaluation of her testimony given during congressional hearings.