RUSSIAN-SOUTH KOREAN SPY SCANDAL.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday underscored Moscow’s hope that the recent spy scandal involving Russia and South Korea would not harm broader ties between the two countries. Vladimir Rakhmanin also called on Seoul to recognize that Moscow had no other choice than to act as it had, and to avoid using the incident as a reason to take retaliatory measures against Russia. (Russian agencies, July 7) On the night of July 3, Russian authorities arrested Cho Sung Woo, a South Korean diplomat, on charges of spying. He was declared persona non grata and has since left Russia. Russian security forces also arrested Valentin Moiseev, the deputy director (not director, as reported in yesterday’s Monitor) of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s First Asian Department. Moiseev is accused of supplying classified information to Cho and faces a possible treason charge.

RUSSIA AND IMF REACH PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT ON NEW LOAN.