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Pyongyang official on Seoul likely doubling as spy agency head
By KH디지털2Published : March 31, 2016 - 10:02
A new North Korean official handling inter-Korean affairs is believed to be continuing his previous role as leader of the North's reconnaissance bureau, an organ similar to Seoul's spy agency, sources said Thursday.
Gen. Kim Yong-chol has been appointed as the party secretary handling inter-Korean affairs, also doubling as the head of the United Front Department at the ruling party, following the death of his predecessor, Kim Yang-gon.
Kim also appears to hold his original position as the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau head tasked with espionage operations against South Korea and cyberwarfare, according to a source familiar with North Korean affairs.
"Kim is seen as leading the North's reconnaissance bureau as well," the source said.
Kim, thought to be behind the North's deadly attacks on South Korea in 2010, has spearheaded the North's key organization since 2009. The bureau is known to be behind Pyongyang's alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014.
Kim, known as a hardliner, is believed to have orchestrated Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010 -- the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. The two attacks killed a total of 50 South Koreans, including two civilians.
He is also known for having masterminded the planting of land mines across the inter-Korean border that severely injured two South Korean staff sergeants in August last year.
The appointment of Gen. Kim as a successor to Kim Yang-gon has spawned speculation that inter-Korean relations will likely remain strained for a long time.
His name was on a list of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council as the 15-member council imposed tougher punitive measures on March 2 over the North's January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February. South Korea also blacklisted him in its own unilateral sanctions.
A series of North Korea's recent provocations seem to support the view Kim is still spearheading the reconnaissance bureau, analysts say.
North Korea launched several short-range projectiles and ballistic missiles this month in a show of defiance against the toughened international sanctions. It has also threatened to make a pre-emptive strike against Seoul and Washington.
But others said that Kim may temporarily lead the bureau until his successor is appointed, given that the posts of a party secretary and the head of the reconnaissance organ have different status in the North. (Yonhap)
Gen. Kim Yong-chol has been appointed as the party secretary handling inter-Korean affairs, also doubling as the head of the United Front Department at the ruling party, following the death of his predecessor, Kim Yang-gon.
Kim also appears to hold his original position as the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau head tasked with espionage operations against South Korea and cyberwarfare, according to a source familiar with North Korean affairs.
"Kim is seen as leading the North's reconnaissance bureau as well," the source said.
Kim, thought to be behind the North's deadly attacks on South Korea in 2010, has spearheaded the North's key organization since 2009. The bureau is known to be behind Pyongyang's alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014.
Kim, known as a hardliner, is believed to have orchestrated Pyongyang's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010 -- the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. The two attacks killed a total of 50 South Koreans, including two civilians.
He is also known for having masterminded the planting of land mines across the inter-Korean border that severely injured two South Korean staff sergeants in August last year.
The appointment of Gen. Kim as a successor to Kim Yang-gon has spawned speculation that inter-Korean relations will likely remain strained for a long time.
His name was on a list of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council as the 15-member council imposed tougher punitive measures on March 2 over the North's January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February. South Korea also blacklisted him in its own unilateral sanctions.
A series of North Korea's recent provocations seem to support the view Kim is still spearheading the reconnaissance bureau, analysts say.
North Korea launched several short-range projectiles and ballistic missiles this month in a show of defiance against the toughened international sanctions. It has also threatened to make a pre-emptive strike against Seoul and Washington.
But others said that Kim may temporarily lead the bureau until his successor is appointed, given that the posts of a party secretary and the head of the reconnaissance organ have different status in the North. (Yonhap)
