French Senate employee arrested for spying in North Korea

An employee of the French Senate was arrested for spying in North Korea. This confirmed legal sources, report the French media in the night of Monday to Tuesday. Benoît Quennedey has been in the Kim Jong-un Diet for years.

Quennedey was arrested Sunday by the intelligence services. He is suspected of "collecting and supplying to a foreign power information likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation [Franse]", namely the transfer of confidential documents to Pyongyang. One day after his arrest, his Senate office was raided. If he is found guilty of spying, Quennedey can be sentenced to 30 years in prison. An investigation into this man has been ongoing since March

. Quennedey is Director of the Department of Architecture and Heritage, a department that occupies heritage, architecture and gardens. He continues to focus on the administration and finances of the Senate. He is also a member and activist of the left-wing political party, Les Radicaux de Gauche.

Organization of Friendship

The Senate employee has not concealed his fascination with North Korea in recent years. Quennedey was president of the Franco-Korean Friendship Organization, a movement to improve relations between Paris and Pyongyang. Around the world, there are dozens of friendship organizations in which supporters of Kim Jong-un's overseas regime are trying to improve North Korea's well-crafted image. Quennedey has also written a book and several articles on North Korea. Since 2008, he has been to the communist country seven times for the last time three months ago. In North Korea, he met with several dignitaries, including Kim Yong-nam (19659006). The president of the French Senate did not want to react to the news concerning the arrest of the AFP news agency. Earlier, North Korea had spies in the World Food Program and at UNESCO. They were all North Korean citizens.