North Korea Presumed to Expand Spy Agency by Bolstering Intelligence Capability: Seoul

Seoul, Sep 15: North Korea is presumed to have expanded operations of the General Reconnaissance Bureau (GRB), the country's spy agency, by strengthening its capabilities of collecting and analysing external intelligence, Seoul's unification ministry said on Monday.

North Korea mentioned a new entity named the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau for the first time in a statement Sunday issued by Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the North's ruling party's Central Military Commission.

The ministry said the North is presumed to have expanded the GRB into the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We are monitoring the possibility that North Korea may have strengthened its capabilities to acquire and analyse external intelligence in line with its operation of a military spy satellite since November 2023," Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

See Also: North Korea to unveil policy of pursuing both nuclear forces, conventional weapons

Pak said he had received a report from the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau that South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold their trilateral Freedom Edge exercise this week, and Seoul and Washington will simultaneously stage the Iron Mace tabletop exercise.

The North successfully placed a spy satellite into orbit in November 2023 after two botched attempts in May and August of that year.

Meanwhile, the ministry said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have vowed to bolster conventional weapons as Russia's war with Ukraine has shown nuclear weapons cannot be used in actual battlefields.

The North's leader said he will unveil a policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear forces and conventional weapons at an upcoming party congress during his visit to key weapons research institutes last week.

"While watching the Russia-Ukraine war, Kim appears to have realised that nuclear weapons cannot be used in actual battlefields and reaffirmed the need for (developing) conventional weapons," Koo said.

The official said Kim's inspection carries a message toward the outside as it was reported only by the Korean Central News Agency, the North's news agency targeting the external audience. The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper catering to the general public, did not report it. [VS]

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