ANorth Korean has been arrested in China after allegedly stealing information related to Chinese military technology on behalf of his country, according to a recent report. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Foreign Ministry with emailed requests for comment. The arrest offered a rare glimpse into strains between China and North Korea, its only treaty ally. China props up the isolated nation’s economy to prevent a refugee crisis and because the reclusive country serves as a buffer between China and U.S. ally South Korea, home to tens of thousands of American troops. Kim Jong Un’s growing ties with Russia—including arms transfers and the deployment of North Korean troops to the Ukrainian front—are seen as a growing thorn in Beijing’s side. While Chinese President Xi Jinping has tolerated this relationship, it could invite additional U.S.-allied military activity to the region and raise the risk of conflict on China’s doorstep. The alleged North Korean spy was recently apprehended by Chinese authorities for stealing Chinese military technology, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency cited sources familiar with the matter as saying in an April 29 report. He was among an unknown number of IT workers who had been sent by an organization under the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Munitions Industry Department to the northeast Chinese city of Liaoning.

Full report : North Korean spy drama in China may signal Beijing’s unease over growing Pyongyang-Moscow ties.