North Korea has accused South Korea of stage-managing a spy investigation that led to the arrest of a New Zealand citizen.
South Korean authorities announced this month that they had arrested two men for supplying advanced defence technology for North Korea including equipment capable of disrupting global positioning system (GPS) signals
One of the arrested men is a 56-year-old identified only as Kim, who is Korean-born and has New Zealand citizenship. The other is a 74-year-old South Korean.
The pair are accused of meeting with a North Korean intelligence officer in China in July last year.
In a commentary, North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper accuses the South of staging the investigation as part of what it calls a fascist crackdown.
It says South Korea is engaging in a smear campaign against the North to increase support for its own government.
