Sue Mi Terry, a senior fellow for Korea studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former analyst of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), speaks during an interview at a peace forum in Jeju, May 29. Yonhap

A renowned Korean American expert on North Korea has been charged with having acted as an agent for the South Korean government in return for expensive dinners and handbags, a U.S. newspaper reported Tuesday, citing federal prosecutors in New York.

Sue Mi Terry, a senior fellow for Korea studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former analyst of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has been indicted on the charges, according to The New York Times. Her lawyer called the charges "unfounded."

She began operating as a foreign agent in June 2013, five years after leaving the CIA, the newspaper said.

She was first contacted by a person posing as a minister for the Korean mission to the United Nations in New York. In return for her work over the ensuing decade, she received handbags, clothing and at least $37,000 in covert payments, according to the report.

As part of her work for South Korea, she made media appearances and wrote articles in U.S. and South Korean publications reflecting Seoul's policy priorities, according to the indictment.

She also testified before Congress three times about North Korea, which required her to sign a form before each hearing declaring that she was not a registered foreign agent, NYT said.

In a statement cited by the daily, Lee Wolosky, Terry's lawyer, said that the allegations were unfounded and distorted "the work of a scholar and news analyst known for her independence and years of service to the United States."

Terry has been a leading expert on Korean Peninsula and East Asian affairs.

She served as a senior fellow with the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2017 to 2021. She also worked for the National Intelligence Council and the National Security Council.

She received her bachelor's degree in political science from New York University and a master's degree and Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. (Yonhap)