China on Thursday said it was “deeply surprised and dissatisfied” with comments made by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol that appeared to accuse Chinese nationals of espionage.
Yoon made a defiant address earlier Thursday in which he defended his shock decision to declare martial law and send troops to the South Korean parliament last week, plunging the democratic nation into political uncertainty.
The embattled leader also lashed out at China during his speech, accusing Chinese nationals of photographing and filming military sites in South Korea in apparent attempts at espionage.
Beijing’s foreign ministry hit back later Thursday, saying Yoon was “groundlessly hyping up so-called Chinese espionage”.
“China… is deeply surprised and dissatisfied with these remarks made by the South Korean side,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing, without referring to Yoon by name.
“This is not conducive to the healthy and stable development of China-South Korea relations,” she added.
During his address, Yoon accused the main opposition party of blocking his efforts to amend South Korea’s anti-spying law.
He said current legislation left “no way to punish foreign nationals for espionage” and cited two cases of alleged spying by Chinese citizens.
They included three people caught flying a drone and filming a US aircraft carrier in the southern port city of Busan, whose devices also contained photos of military installations.
In the other case, Yoon said, a man in his 40s travelled from China to Seoul and “made a beeline” to film South Korea’s National Intelligence Service with a drone.
Yoon did not give further details of either case and spent the majority of his speech arguing the opposition had caused a “national crisis”, pledging to “fight with the people until the very last minute”.
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