Won Jeong-hwa, the North Korean defector and suspected spy appeared in South Korean court today.

When asked by the court if she was aware of the contents of the indictment, she answered "yes" in a barely audible voice. Prosecutors have said Won is hardly the meek woman who appeared in court. They submitted pictures of her showing scars she received in commando training in the North and previously told local media Pyongyang wanted to use her as an assassin. Won's lawyers did not speak with reporters at court. The spy case comes as ties between the Koreas have chilled after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February and angered the North by saying Seoul would stop what once had been a free flow of aid and tie handouts to progress the North makes in nuclear disarmament. Prosecutors told local media they suspect Won of sleeping with several South Korean officers and receiving classified information from them on items such as weapons systems and troop movements, which she then passed on to North Korea. The North has disavowed any connection to her and lambasted her for leaving the country. "(Won is) human scum crazy for money, vanity and swindling," its KCNA news agency last week quoted an official with the communist state as saying.

Although the sex-for secrets spy in that film didn't pose as a defector, still this episode brings to mind 2001's Shiri.

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