A South Korean importer of rice liquor has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with South Korean officials in New York.

The case against Park Il Woo, a longtime Manhattan resident who goes by the name Steve Park, offered a glimpse into a four-year FBI investigation into South Korea’s spy network in New York.

Park pleaded guilty on Friday to making false statements on three occasions, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, Yusill Scribner, said.

Park was never charged with espionage, although federal authorities suggest South Korea paid Park for information. Exactly what type of information is unclear, although court filings hint that Park’s conversations with South Korean officials often were about North Korea.

During a 2005 conversation with one South Korean official, Park said he had received a request from the North Korean government to bring “insecticides, anesthetics, and veterinary products” during an upcoming trip there, according to court documents filed by the government. Prosecutors haven’t identified any of the foreign officials with whom Park spoke.

The case against Park stems from denials he made about having any contact with South Korean officials. The denials came during three conversations he had with FBI agents, at their request. At one meeting with federal agents that took place at Grant’s Tomb, Park offered to act as a “go-between” for America and North Korea, the government claims in court filings. At a different meeting he told an FBI agent that South Korea had executed his father as a suspected communist, according to the filing.

A lawyer for Mr. Park, Dierdre Von Dornum, did not return repeated calls for comment. Park remains free on bail.