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China-Japan-Koreas

N.Korea's Old Guard Sidelined

2013-12-27

The old guard in the North Korean military appears to have been replaced by a younger generation of officers loyal to leader Suet Face Kim Jong-un since the execution of former eminence grise Jang Song-taek. Several elderly hardliners from the days of former leader Kim Jong-il were conspicuously absent from a ceremony at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Tuesday to mark the 22nd anniversary of Kim senior's appointment as supreme commander. A photo of the event published by the official KCNA news agency shows a new troika of powerful officers -- military politburo chief Choe Ryong-hae, army chief Ri Yong-gil, and armed forces minister Jang Jong-nam. But conspicuous by their absence were veterans of the "military-first" like era National Defense Commission members Kim Yong-chun, Ri Yong-mu, O Kuk-ryol and Hyon Chol-hae, as well as key members of the old guard who were close to Jang, including Minister of People's Security Choe Bu-il. The photo has raised speculation that the National Defense Commission, which was the most powerful decision-making body during the Kim Jong-il regime, has now grown weaker. Although Kim Jong-un is the chairman of the National Defense Commission, the execution of Jang, its vice chairman, has apparently forced other vice chairmen -- Kim Yong-chun, Ri Yong-mu and O Kuk-ryol -- into virtual retirement.

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China-Japan-Koreas

N.Korean Parliament to Meet for 2nd Time This Year

2012-09-06

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly convenes for the second time this year on Sept. 25, the state-run KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday. It did not say what will be discussed. The first meeting took place in April. The rubber-stamp parliament met twice a year in the days of nation founder Kim Il-sung but only once a year since Kim Jong-il officially took power in 1998, except in 2003 and 2010. There is speculation that the National Defense Commission, the top decision-making body under Kim Jong-il, will be restructured to reflect recent changes, according to Ryu Dong-ryeol at the Police Science Institute. Former army chief Ri Yong-ho was gunned down purged in July by rival Choe Ryong-hae. Perhaps Choe will be promoted to vice chairman of the NDC and old guards like vice chairmen Ri Yong-mu (87), O Kuk-ryol (82) and Kim Yong-chun (76) and NDC member Ju Kyu-chang (84) put on the scrap heap. Or they'll just be shot, if they haven't been already... Any void could be filled by Kim Yong-chol, the head of the General Reconnaissance Bureau who is in charge of anti-South Korean operations, and new army chief Hyon Yong-chol.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Purges Ensure Pudgy's Succession

2011-12-27

A series of executions and unexplained deaths since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son Jong-un was anointed heir to the throne in January 2009 were apparently meant to remove obstacles to the transition. Kim senior instituted several bloody purges to ensure his iron grip on power since he officially took over from his own father in 1994. The most prominent example is perhaps the death of Ri Je-gang, a former senior deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department and a close aide to Kim Jong-il who oversaw key military appointments for more than two decades. Ri was a bitter rival of Jang Song-taek, Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law and guardian to Jong-un, and was killed in a mysterious car crash in late May 2010, just a few days before Jang was promoted to vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, the North's highest leadership organ. Ri Yong-chol, the second-in-command at the Organization and Guidance Department, also died of acute cirrhosis a heart attack in April of last year. "Ri Je-gang was the central figure of the old guard," a knowledgeable source in China said. "He seems to have been eliminated to boost the power of Kim Jong-un's supporters." Economic officials have also purged. Pak Nam-gi, director of the Planning and Finance Department in the Workers Party, and Moon Il-bong, head of finance, were executed by firing squad in April and June last year. Hong Sok-hyong, who succeeded Pak, was relieved of all of his duties in June and his whereabouts are unknown. Ex-minister of railways Kim Yong-sam was executed in June of last year after being linked to a massive explosion in Ryongchon in 2004 that is believed to have been a botched attack on Kim Jong-il's armored train. Key intelligence and public security officials have also disappeared while the succession was being assured. Ryu Kyong, the deputy director of the State Security Department, was shot early this year as he was considered a rival to Jang. Ju Sang-song, the minister of People's Security, was fired in March of this year. "Those considered as obstacles to Kim Jong-un are being removed," a source said. "Another bloody purge is likely after the period of mourning for Kim Jong-il ends." The crosshairs are expected to be aimed at elderly military and party officials who could consider Kim Jong-un a lightweight. They're going to purge everyone then... Pensions are expensive, you know. O Kuk-ryol (80), who was the central military figure during the Kim Jong-il regime is on top of the bucket list, according to experts. O was not appointed to any position within the Politburo or Central Military Commission during an extraordinary party congress in September last year. The North's espionage operations against South Korea, which O had headed over the past 20 years, are now headed by Kim Yong-chol, who has emerged as a key aide to Kim Jong-un. Secretaries to Kim Jong-il and other elderly party officials also represent obstacles to Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-il in turn got rid of his own father's secretaries when he took over. There are views that Kim Jong-un's "reign of terror" has already begun. According to a government source, there were 60 public executions in North Korea last year, a three-fold increase from 2009. The North Korean government set up special riot police in each part of the country. A year after Kim Jong-il was appointed North Korea's top military commander, in October 1992, he purged 20 military officers who were educated in the Soviet Union and had gained control of the North's troops. In April 1995, just after his father's death, he executed hundreds of soldiers when suspicious developments in the Sixth Army Corps stationed in North Hamgyong Province were detected. In 1997, when millions of North Koreans were starving to death, Kim Jong-il executed his then agriculture secretary So Kwan-hui in Pyongyang after accusing him of being a U.S. spy.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Clues from Kim Jong-il Funeral List

2011-12-21

What a wonderful day it is to be a Kremlinologist... The North Korean regime on Monday issued a list of 232 people who make up the funeral committee for dead leader Kim Jong-il. Experts believe the order more or less matches their rank in the pecking order. Kim's son and designated heir Jong-un is at the top of the list. Kim Keun-sik, a North Korean expert at Kyungnam University, said, "The list is in the order of members of the standing committee of the Politburo, then members and candidate members. It shows that the party will be stronger power than the military," because Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek or O Kuk-ryol, the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, are listed further down." One reason could be that Sonny Boy Kim Jong-un is not yet a member of the commission, unlike his father, who ruled the country through it. Fat Boy's Kim Jong-un's aunt Kim Kyong-hui and her husband Jang Song-taek are in 14th and 19th in the list, even though Jang was widely believed to be the eminence grise behind Kim Jong-il. Kim's exiled eldest son Fredo Jong-nam is not listed, nor are his middle son Jong-chol and virtually exiled half-brother Pyong-il, the perpetual North Korean Ambassador to Poland. One expert on North Korea said, "It's natural for their names to be excluded from the funeral committee as it is mostly filled with people with official titles."

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China-Japan-Koreas

Nork Spy Chief Main Obstacle to Improving Relations

2011-08-02

Next to Kimmie and Sonny Boy, you mean... North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will have to sack the head of the regime's operations against South Korea to show it is "sincere" about improving cross-border relations, a government official here said Monday. The official was referring to Kim Yong-chol, director of the North's Reconnaissance Bureau. Kim is believed to have masterminded last year's attacks against the Navy corvette Cheonan and Yeaonpyeong Island. He is also believed to be behind the hacking of agricultural lender Nonghyup. The government believes that as long as he remains close to Kim Jong-il (no relation) and his heir apparent Jong-un, inter-Korean relations cannot improve. Kim Yong-chol was only recently elected to the Workers Party's Central Military Commission, whose vice chairman is now Kim junior. According to a well-informed source, Kim Yong-chol is concerned about what would happen to his position if inter-Korean relations were to improve. South Korean intelligence believes it was Kim Yong-chol who caused a fracas at an inter-Korean military meeting in February, and ordered secret contacts between the two Koreas in May to be revealed on June 1. Job security is always job one in a thugocracy... The source said that Kim Yong-chol wields much influence over Kim Jong-un as he tutored the dynastic son in military lore while Kim junior was at Kim Il Sung Military University. Rumors have it that Kim Yong-chol boasted to fellow officials that he "brought up" Kim Jong-un. Another government official said Kim Yong-chol's arrogance makes him unpopular within the regime. Senior military figures like Kim Yong-chun and O Kuk-ryol have openly criticized him for crippling the country to flatter Kim Jong-un. Even vice marshal Ri Yong-ho and Kim Jong-gak, the first deputy chief of the General Political Bureau, who belong to the same group of patrons of Kim Jong-un, are concerned about Kim Yong-chol's growing influence. The official added that officials in North Korea's Foreign Ministry and the United Front Department are saying the North can only make progress if Kim Yong-chol steps down. They say he only cares about furthering his own interests, according to the official. Unlike all the rest of them, of course, they're all patriots at heart... A government source said, "As long as Kim Yong-chol exerts influence over both Kim senior and junior, it is unlikely that recent talks on the North's nuclear issue and foreign ministerial talks will lead to an easing of inter-Korean relations." Some pundits even predict that Kim Yong-chol can push for further provocations if the two Koreas try to engage in dialogue in earnest. One intelligence officer said, "The Reconnaissance Bureau could try to destroy infrastructure in South Korea through spies in the South, or carry out terrorist attacks on North Korean defectors campaigning against the dictatorial regime in the South. It is also possible that the North will carry out another massive cyber attack." Another intelligence officer said that given Kim Yong-chol's "violent and reckless nature," if he sees himself on the verge of being purged, he might resort to extreme measures such as a coup d'état.

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China-Japan-Koreas

N. Korea's Brat Pack Lead Life of Luxury

2011-04-19

When Kim Jong-chol, the second son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, spent 10 leisurely days in Singapore in February going on a luxury shopping spree and attending an Eric Clapton concert, he was apparently joined by a brat pack of children of powerful officials in North Korea. An official source here said Sunday intelligence information reveals Kim Jong-chol (30) and members of the so-called Ponghwajo or torch group not only visited Singapore, but also went to Macao and Malaysia to gamble and shop. The Ponghwajo consists of the regime's princelings, not to be confused with the children of early high-ranking officials who fought as revolutionaries along with former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. These sons of the revolutionaries are now in their 50s and 60s and have recently been tapped to serve in key positions under North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong-un. But the Ponghwajo are in their 30s and 40s and are not viewed favorably by the regime's leadership. Though they are often engaged in activities that generate dollar revenues through drug sales, counterfeiting and black market trade, they apparently do not wield much political power. The group was formed in the early 2000s by O Se-won, the son of Gen. O Kuk-ryol, a senior leader in North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission, and Kim Chol, the son of Kim Won-hong, head of the People's Army Security Command. Its members include Ri Il-hyok, the first son of Ri Chol, former North Korean ambassador to Switzerland and the official in charge of handling Kim Jong-il's secret bank accounts, as well as Kang Tae-seung, the eldest son of First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju and Jo Song-ho, the eldest son of the late Jo Myong-rok, first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission who died last year.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Defector Offers Insights into Nork Arms Buildup

2011-01-20

North Korea began building centrifuges to enrich uranium in the late 1990s, a high-ranking North Korean defector said Tuesday. "There is a factory in Huichon, Jagang Province that builds centrifuges," the defector said. There are fears that centrifuges manufactured in Huichon could have been moved to the nearby Yongbyon nuclear facility north of Pyongyang. Huichon is just 57 km from Yongbyon and the two cities are connected by road and railway. In November North Korea took U.S. nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker to a facility in Yongbyon that contained around a thousand centrifuges. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials believe that the centrifuges were made elsewhere. Huichon also houses a cluster of factories that produce precision machinery and electrical components that are crucial to manufacturing centrifuges. According to the Unification Ministry, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Huichon seven times last year to inspect power plants and factories there. Recently, North Korea has mobilized troops from Kim's own guard corps and is going all out to build a hydroelectric power plant there. A North Korean source said, "It takes a considerable amount of electricity to operate centrifuges. There are suspicions that North Korea wants to turn Huichon into a uranium enrichment center after completing the hydroelectric plant." The senior defector said North Korea is incapable of producing the engines that are a crucial component of centrifuges and had to import them from Japan, France and Russia. Turning to the North's existing nuclear weapons, the defector said their efficiency still needs to be improved, so North Korea will try to boost its nuclear capability by conducting a third nuclear test. "There is almost no chance that North Korea will start a war at this point," he added. "High-ranking North Korean military commanders know their country is incapable of sustaining a war." He also said there appears to be considerable discontent in North Korea about the transfer of power to Kim's son Jong-un. After Kim junior was appointed as successor, security officers reportedly raided the homes of high-ranking officials and dug out vast stashes of dollars, and many proteges of Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek and O Kuk-ryol, a vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, are believed to have been arrested. The defector said claims that former leader Kim Il-sung's last wish was to denuclearize his country are "nonsense." He said there was a heated debate in 1986, when the Yongbyon nuclear facility was almost completed, whether to use it for power generation or weapons development. "At that time, Kim Il-sung issued a lengthy command ordering it to be used to develop nuclear weapons," the defector said. "All the scientists who wanted to use the facility for power generation were fired." On the North's missile program, the defector said North Korea's Scud B and C missiles, which have a range of 300-500 km, were developed based on two Russian missiles smuggled in from Egypt during the 1960s. At the time, the North provided one of the two missiles to China, and as a gesture of gratitude Beijing in turn offered technical assistance to the North in the 1990s in order to boost the performance of the weapons. He added that Swedish builder and mining equipment maker Atlas Copco helped North Korea build a large cave in Ryanggang Province that came under suspicion in 1999 for housing an underground nuclear facility. Regarding North Korea's attack against the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, the defector said it was "probably the result of years of preparation" after naval clashes on the West Sea in 1999 and 2002. He said the skirmish in 1999 killed around 20 North Korean sailors, wounded around 70, sank one vessel and destroyed seven more. In 2002, six South Korean sailors died, but some dozen North Korean sailors were killed and 15 wounded, and one of the North's vessels was completely destroyed. "When it realized it could not beat South Korea with ships, North Korea turned to torpedoes to plan a surprise attack," the defector said.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Norks Purging Proteges of Old Guard

2011-01-10

The North Korean regime appears to be purging proteges of O Kuk-ryol, a vice chairman of the National Defense Commission who once headed the Workers Party's Operations Department, and leader Kim Jong il's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek, the director of the party Administration Department and a sort of eminence grise in the North. The two wielded near-absolute power during Kim Jong-il's heyday but have kept at a respectful distance since Kim's son Jong-un was established as his heir. A high-level North Korean source said that nearly 200 senior officials were executed or detained by the State Security Department in early December last year. Executed, huh? Saves us the trouble, at least... They include many senior officials of trading companies under the military and the party, such as the head of Sogyong Trading Corporation under the party's Financial and Accounting Department; the head of "No. 54" Trading Company under the Ministry of People's Armed Forces; Pak Jong-su, the chief of a military-run coal trading company; the head of the general bureau of fuel oil; and Ri Jong-ho, the head of Taehung Trading Company. Ri Chol-su, the head of the Taehung Trading Company's Wonsan branch and a protege of Jang's, jumped to his death during interrogation by the State Security Department on charges of illegally amassing of wealth and espionage. The matter was about to be closed after his suicide but instead it fueled a second-round of purges, with many others arrested on the strength of statements extracted under interrogation. The purge was conducted with zeal by the senior deputy chief of the State Security Department U Dong-chuk, who discussed details of the plan with Kim father and son. They do nothing in North Korea without zeal... Security officers reportedly descended on the homes of senior officials in the early morning and dug out vast stashes of dollars at many of them. Rumor has it that in one of the homes officers found US$1 million. Observers speculate the chances of survival for those arrested are slim. Kim junior reportedly gave the order to arrest anybody at whose home more than $50,000 was found, saying, "Those who illegally amassed money at a time when the country is in difficulty are traitors." Except himself and the ones who are (today) still favored... The fact that most of them are close aides to Jang and O has fueled speculation that Kim Jong-un is specifically targeting the two men. As the most powerful representatives of the old guard, they are considered the biggest obstacles to his assuming control. Currently, Kim junior is issuing instructions on behalf of his father who is suffering ill health, but the real power is concentrated on Jang. With his health deteriorating since before he collapsed with a stroke in 2008, Kim Jong-il has depended more on his family than the party Politburo to rule. When all work was paralyzed after his collapse, Jang temporarily took over power and was more or less in sole charge. As a result, it seems that the regime has no choice but to get rid of Jang if it is to hand full power over to Kim Jong-un without a hitch. A former senior North Korean official who defected to the South said, "Kim Jong-il may be trying to hand over power to his son quickly, but nothing is going on as intended." He recalled that Kim Il-sung's younger brother Kim Yong-ju, who contributed to establishing Kim Jong-il to the succession, was the first to be purged. "Jang Song-taek knows the story all too well, so it's likely that the wily old fox made thorough preparations for this. He would never sit idly by and let it happen," he added. This paints a picture of utter confusion in the North Korean regime amid Kim senior's poor health and the power succession.

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China-Japan-Koreas

The Trouble with Kim Jong-il's Succession

2010-08-24

[Chosun Ilbo] The North Korean party elite have recently felt the country is at something of a historic turning point, with regime change just around the corner. Leader Kim Jong-il believes that the only way for him to maintain his power is to establish the hereditary succession of his son, but it is doubtful whether the entire party agrees. Ri Je-gang, the first deputy director of the Workers Party's Organization and Guidance Department, the prop for Kim Jong-il's heir apparent, recently died in a mysterious car accident, and Pak Jae-kyong, the deputy director in charge of propaganda of the General Political Department of the North Korean People's Army, was recently removed to a post in charge of overseas affairs. There is no way of knowing the inside story, but something is clearly going on. These could be signs of a rift in the leadership between those who feel the winds of change blowing and the Kim loyalists. O Kuk-ryol and Jang Song-taek apparently have gaining power in the North. Both are Kim Jong-il's closest associates, but power is leaning toward the former. Commanding the Operation Department of the party for a long time and enjoying Kim Jong-il's absolute trust, O has built firm personal links in the armed forces. Now even Kim cannot afford to remove O. Jang Song-taek, meanwhile, lost his two elder brothers in the armed forces to heart attacks and has few close associates remaining due to incessant intrigue against him. The power structure is cracking. North Korea has had few political upheavals. However difficult it was, Kim Jong-il's associates always united behind him. But the question is what a future without him holds, and whether they face a stark choice between Chinese-style reform and being thrown on the scrap heap of history. The North's food shortage is even more serious than the famine during the latter half of the 1990s. But markets that were deserted for several months after the botched currency reform late last year are reviving, and the people are restless. The authorities find it all but impossible to control the markets any longer, and the suspension of foreign aid means the armed forces and those in power have little to bargain with. Few party leaders know what Kim Jong-un looks like and what he has done. The party's propaganda department should make the same efforts it did to establish Kim Jong-il as his own father's heir, but that does not seem to be happening. Kim Jong-il specially created a secret body dubbed "No. 10" with the authority to ferret out and dispose of people who raised questions about his family lineage, lest anyone raise doubt about the genetic purity with which the regime is obsessed. If Kim Jong-un is to be presented as the heir, the background of his mother Ko Young-hee will inevitably be exposed, and that is bound to eventually lead to the disclosure of Kim Jong-il's private life and his own origins. But the biggest stumbling block to hereditary succession is Kim Jong-il himself. Having reduced his own father Kim Il-sung to a powerless figurehead, he must now dread what Kim Jong-un might do if he is built up too fast. He is in a bind, both compelled to designate an heir and mortally afraid of doing so, with the result that the whole process is stalled.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Nork Brat Pack 'Behind Global Crime'

2010-05-27

A brat pack of children of the most powerful officials in North Korea have been involved in worldwide distribution of forged US$100 bills and drug smuggling, the Washington Times reported on Tuesday. Citing U.S. intelligence officials, the daily said the group, named "Ponghwajo" (torch group), was unmasked when South Korea and the U.S. were looking to take sanctions against North Korea. Ponghwajo is led by O Se-won, the son of Gen. O Kuk-ryol, a senior leader in North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission. Kang Tae-seung, the son of First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju, and Kim Chol, the son of Kim Won-hong, head of the People's Army Security Command, are among members. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's second and third sons Jong-chol and Jong-un are also involved in this group, and according to some officials Jong-chol gets his drugs through Ponghwajo. Their distribution of counterfeit U.S. dollar bills led the U.S. to impose financial sanctions against North Korea in 2005, the daily said. "We continue to have concerns about North Korean counterfeiting, both manufacturing and distributing counterfeit $100 notes," the paper cited a U.S. Treasury official as saying. They said the U.S. government is considering additional financial sanctions against the North over a torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Nork Forces 'Told to Get Ready for Combat'

2010-05-26

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has ordered the military to be ready for combat, a Seoul-based defectors' group said Tuesday quoting a source in the reclusive country. North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said when South Korea announced the findings of a probe into the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan last Thursday, O Kuk-ryol, the vice chairman of the North's National Defense Commission, in a statement said Kim ordered the entire military, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Security Department, the Worker-Peasant Red Guard, and the Red Youth Guard to be ready for combat." Kim's order was relayed via wire broadcasting to a speaker installed in each home. These broadcasts are often used by the regime when it disseminates information that it does not want to be known abroad. A South Korean security official said the government is "trying to verify" the report. According to the defectors' group, O, who is in charge of operations against the South, called the Cheonan incident a "plot to strangle" the North. Kim commanded that the North should "achieve the reunification of the fatherland by all means" since it failed during the Korean War, O said. Kim Sung-min, the head of defector station Free North Korea Radio said North Korean soldiers on furlough or official trips have been ordered to return to barracks. A North Korean source said security guards in the North Korea-China border regions were ordered to punish South Koreans in China found slandering the North over the Cheonan incident. The North's official Korean Central News Agency the same day reported in detail on South Korean sanctions against the North. It threatened to "respond to any kind of punishment, retaliation, or sanctions with tough measures, including an all-out war" and repeated an earlier statement saying it regards the current situation as "a phase in the war."

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China-Japan-Koreas

Seoul, Washington Focus on Nork Spymaster

2009-06-06

Gen. O Kuk-ryol, the vice chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission, has emerged as a common target for both U.S. and South Korean authorities. Citing U.S. intelligence officials, the Washington Times on Tuesday said the general and several of his family members play key roles in the production and distribution of so-called "supernotes," which are high-quality counterfeit US$100 bills. South Korean intelligence officials, meanwhile, point to O as the chief of the recently overhauled North Korean apparatus in charge of spying on the South. A South Korean official said O is therefore being closely monitored by both sides. As one effective sanction against North Korea, the two governments are considering targeting a handful of high-level North Korean officials including O and freezing their overseas bank accounts. Someone explain to me why this wasn't done years ago ... One person familiar with North Korean affairs said, "Gen. O, who was promoted to the National Defense Commission in February, is deeply involved in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's transfer of power to his son." The source added O was a central figure behind North Korea's latest grandstanding, which is believed to be part of efforts to pave the way for a smooth transfer of power from Kim Jong-il to his third son. A former Air Force commander, O is among the hawks in the North Korean military. When he was chief of staff between 1979 and 1988, O spearheaded efforts to modernize the military, but he was demoted after clashing with O Jin-woo, a key officer, over reforms. O was saved when Kim Jong-il came to his rescue. South Korean intelligence officials say Kim recently consolidated all the espionage operations in the North Korean military and the Workers Party, placed them under the National Defense Commission, the country's most powerful organization, and put O in charge of that consolidated espionage apparatus. A South Korean intelligence source said the fact that the hawkish O has been put in charge makes it necessary for the South to prepare for provocations by North Korea. The reconnaissance division, which was placed under the National Defense Commission, no longer falls under the jurisdiction of Kim Yong-chun, chief of the general staff of the Korean People's Army but takes orders directly from Kim Jong-il. The division specializes in terror against South Korea, including assassination and kidnapping. Following the organizational change, the party, which had handled espionage against South Korea, is left with an external liaison office and a department that handles dialogue, business projects and psychological warfare on the South. During the administrations of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, the department had been at the forefront of inter-Korean relations, but its power has diminished significantly, and it is now believed to be only in charge of formulating South Korea policy. The department handles communication between the two Koreas, joint business projects and psychological warfare targeting South Korea. A South Korean government source said the strengthening of the surveillance apparatus and the weakening of the party department is a signal that North Korea's espionage and subversive operation against the South will intensify.

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