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Seoul, Washington Focus on Nork Spymaster
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.
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. Posted by: Steve White 2009-06-06 |
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