Seoul, April 9 (IANS): North Korea will deport a US citizen accused of conspiring and spreading propaganda against the Kim regime under the pretext of humanitarian aid during trips to the country over the last two decades.

Korean-origin US citizen Sandra Suh has worked on humanitarian aid projects in North Korea since 1998, Efe news agency cited the North Korean government as saying in a statement on Thursday on the state-owned KCNA portal.

The regime claims that over the years, Suh "engaged in anti-DPRK (North Korea) propaganda abroad with photos and videos... out of inveterate repugnancy" towards the Communist country.

North Korea said that the accused admitted to her "crimes" and sought pardon.

It also said that the decision to deport her instead of imposing a greater punishment was made "taking into full consideration her old age".

Suh, whose age is unknown, founded Christian humanitarian organisation Wheat Mission Ministries in Los Angeles in 1989, according to the mission's website.

The organisation claims to be providing food and basic necessities in North Korea, suffering from food scarcity since a large-scale economic crisis in the 1990s.

In recent years, North Korea has accused several foreign missionaries of anti-regime activities and of illegally disseminating religious and ideological propaganda.

In 2014, Pyongyang freed three US citizens -- Jeffrey Edward Fowle, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller -- detained on charges of crimes against the state.