[JURIST] The Supreme Court of South Korea [official backgrounder] Thursday upheld the sentence of Michael Jang, a Korean American convicted of spying for North Korea [JURIST news archive] In April, the Seoul District Court in South Korea sentenced five people to jail [JURIST report] for espionage. Group ringleader Jang initiated contact with North Korean agents in 1998 and first established a spy ring to pass secret information to North Korea in 2002. Jang was sentenced to seven years in prison, while other group members were sentenced to between four- and six-year terms.

The group was indicted [AP report] by South Korean officials last December in what has been labeled the largest spy case since the two countries began reconciliation at a North-South summit in 2000 [CNN report]. North Korea has said the case is a plot by pro-US forces to bolster anti-North Korean feelings in the South. AP has more.