North Korea has likely expanded its spy agency, claims Seoul

ISTANBUL

North Korea has likely expanded its spy agency following the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite in November 2023, Seoul said Monday.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesperson Koo Byung-sam told a news briefing in Seoul that Pyongyang appears to have “expanded and restructured” the former Reconnaissance General Bureau to the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau.

Seoul 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,” said Koo, according to a transcript of the news conference.

Pyongyang successfully launched its military satellite in November 2023, marking the third attempt that year after failing twice earlier in May and August.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had hailed the successful launch of Pyongyang’s military satellite, calling it a “full-fledged exercise of the right to self-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.

DPRK is the official name of North Korea, which stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Following the launch of the satellite, Seoul and Pyongyang had scrapped the 2018-signed bilateral military pact.

The reconnaissance satellite, which runs under the Pyongyang General Control Centre of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, began its operations in December 2023.