The fate of a South Korean missionary who worked with North Korean defectors in Russia remains in question six months after his arrest on espionage charges, raising concerns that Moscow seeks to use him for hostage diplomacy with Seoul.

Federal Security Service (FSB) officers arrested Baek Kwang-soon in Vladivostok in January, after he reportedly traveled to the Russian Far East city from China to carry out work for the Global Love Rice Sharing Foundation and help North Korean workers.

According to Russian media reports, authorities have accused Baek of attempting to collect classified information via messaging apps by posing