Pyongyang: North Korea has announced plans to expand the functions and missions of its intelligence agency to counter "potential enemies," as reported by state media. This move is perceived as an effort to bolster intelligence gathering against South Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this development was discussed during the first enlarged meeting of the ninth Central Military Commission, overseen by leader Kim Jong-un. The meeting focused on enhancing the Korean People's Army's combat readiness and modernization.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the meeting proposed tasks and methods for expanding the functions and missions of the General Reconnaissance and Intelligence Bureau (GRIB). The bureau is described as crucial in controlling potential threats and gathering essential information. The meeting also emphasized the need for a significant enhancement of military reconnaissance and intelligence capabilities.
Details on how the bureau's intelligence-gathering capabilities would be expanded were not disclosed. However, North Korea is believed to have amplified the General Reconnaissance Bureau into the GRIB to strengthen its external intelligence collection and analysis capabilities.
The GRIB gained attention in September, with its chief, Ri Chang-ho, leading overseas operations units during a military parade in Pyongyang on February 25, commemorating the ninth congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, suggested North Korea might initiate increasingly sophisticated attacks on non-military sectors, supported by enhanced intelligence, such as cyberattacks, unmanned aerial reconnaissance, and intelligence gathering against South Korean infrastructure.
South Korea's unification ministry stated it would "closely monitor" related developments amid concerns over potential North Korean provocations.
The meeting also addressed personnel changes within the People's Army, indicating a possible reshuffle. Discussions covered significant political and military tasks to strengthen the army's combat readiness and enhance its politico-ideological and military technical power.
Kim Jong-un signed seven written orders to implement major military decisions, emphasizing military strength as essential for national security. He stated that true peace could only be achieved by building a strong army and controlling threats with its power.
The meeting also resolved to upgrade combat systems' technical infrastructure, enhance the nuclear force, and modernize military bases. Other topics included naval modernization, remodeling coal-mining regions, and other construction projects.