Chinese tourist who allegedly filmed NIS building with drone detained by police

A Chinese national was detained by police for allegedly filming the headquarters of Korea's top spy agency headquarters in southern Seoul with a drone on Saturday.

Dozens of military-grade drones developed by the Agency for Defense Development fly during a test in March 2020. Image is unrelated to the article. [JOONGANG ILBO]

A Chinese national was detained by police for allegedly filming Korea's top spy agency headquarters in southern Seoul with a drone on Saturday.

The Seocho Police Precinct said on Sunday that it had detained a Chinese tourist the day before as a suspect for violating the Aviation Safety Act.

The tourist filmed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) building and other sites in southern Seoul, using a drone at around 3 p.m.

The police say that the tourist was believed to have been filming the Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs, a Unesco World Heritage Site, with a drone and also captured footage of the nearby NIS building.

“There doesn't appear to be any specific espionage-related suspicions so far, but we plan to continue the investigation,” a police official told local news outlet Newsis.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide further details.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]