Seoul, Jul 19 (IANS): A North Korean defector has been arrested in the South Korean capital on charges of selling classified military information from South Korea to a third country, prosecutors said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Lee, allegedly obtained the classified information from former senior officials of the Korea Defence Intelligence Command (KDIC), Efe news quoted a representative of the Prosecutor's Office in Seoul Central District as saying in a press conference.

Lee may have obtained information from a 58-year-old ex-KDIC official named Hwang, who was already arrested last month with another officer from the same military intelligence arm over a separate case of espionage.

Following interrogations, investigators discovered the alleged leak carried out by Lee although the exact relationship between the defector and Hwang has not been revealed.

Lee possibly sold the information to an intelligence operative deployed on a diplomatic mission to an East Asian country, said a prosecution representative.

The prosecutor's office suspects that Lee leaked 109 pieces of classified information, including personal data of South Korean intelligence operatives working in foreign legations abroad who have had to leave their posts and return after the case came to light.