Seoul Says N. Korea Upgraded Spy Bureau After Satellite Milestone
(MENAFN) North Korea appears to have restructured and bolstered its intelligence apparatus following the successful deployment of a military reconnaissance satellite in November 2023, South Korean officials announced Monday.
During a press briefing in Seoul, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesperson Koo Byung-sam stated that Pyongyang has likely “expanded and restructured” its former Reconnaissance General Bureau into what is now called the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau.
Koo emphasized that South Korea is “monitoring the likelihood that the North has enhanced its capacity for gathering and analyzing external intelligence following its operation of a military reconnaissance satellite in November 2023,” according to a transcript of his remarks.
The satellite’s launch in November marked North Korea’s first successful attempt after two prior failures in May and August of the same year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lauded the launch, framing it as a pivotal step in national defense.
“The possession of a reconnaissance satellite is a full-fledged exercise of the right to self-defense. The DPRK armed forces can neither concede even a bit nor stop even a moment, as they should firmly defend the security environment, development, and interests" of the country, Kim said.
The term DPRK, short for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is North Korea’s official name.
In the aftermath of the satellite’s deployment, diplomatic tensions escalated. Both Seoul and Pyongyang withdrew from a key inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018, further straining relations.
The surveillance satellite, managed by the Pyongyang General Control Centre under the National Aerospace Technology Administration, officially commenced operations in December 2023.
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