North Korean Intelligence Collection Methods

North Korea Info Collection

Over the many decades that it has had a dictatorial regime, North Korea has attempted to use a number of different approaches to gain access to the vital information it believes it needs to counter the forces of its warring enemy, South Korea. Even so on just about every level it is assumed that North Korea is quite far behind in its abilities to compete effectively in the challenge to confront or spy on other nations that it doesn't like or distrusts -- including the United States.

For the most part, North Korea funnels its strategies regarding the capturing of information through its military and spy networks (Pike, 2011). However, it has also begin using other more contemporary methods of information gathering and monitoring, including adjusting their military systems to facilitate better control and provocation strategies. This is thought to be occurring because of the country's awareness that it has to begin more seriously using cyber warfare and cellular tactics. The nation, through its leader, is very familiar with the emerging importance of technologies, but seems constrained by the approaches they can use and the options available. It has been said that Kim Jong-Il believes that those who do not appreciate technological capabilities are among the world's three main groups of fools, followed closely by smokers and people who do not appreciate music (Breitbart, 2009). This awareness must confront the fact that even South Korea is much more advanced in the way that it actively encourages Internet access and connectivity (Dies, 2011).

Over the course of many decades, North Korea has relied upon secretive and military-based intelligence capabilities to collect and monitor information about South Korea and other perceived enemies (Nanto, 2003). Even U.S. military analyses acknowledge that with between 60,000 and 100,000 operatives North Korea has the largest spy network in the world. This level of military authority is laced with the purposes of power, control and intimidation, even when it is used for gathering intelligence information or raw provocation. The true purposes of this can be seen through recent moves by North Korean military leadership to consolidate and refine their levels of control and responsibility such that spying capabilities are more spread out across the armed forces.

Relatively recent information collection efforts based in the military use a number of operational and tactical methods. Since the 1950s to at least 2002, there have been dozens of examples of ways that they have threated to turn the "seas into fire" through military attacks and threats, even if they were publicly presented as being for other purposes or lied about. Many of their efforts have really been to infiltrate South Korean operations or to otherwise get trained personnel into that country. One notable example of this can be seen in a submarine incident that occurred in 1996 when a North Korean submarine was caught attempting to engage in a full-scale espionage plot (Dies, 2011). Military personnel went to shore and others were on the ship dressed in South Korean uniforms. After several efforts by the North Koreans to retrieve their soldiers once their mission had been uncovered, some of their men were either killed or committed suicide so they could not be forced to talk about their real mission. While other threat-based actions like firing missiles and building nuclear weapons facilities are the subjects of most media coverage, some believe that North Korea really wants to break through communication barriers.

Overall, North Korea's military approaches have begun to give way to other more contemporary strategies that have their own security and control elements (Associated Press, 2009). These strategies center on cyber warfare tactics and cellular phone monitoring and interceptions.

The cyber warfare tactics were identified in a Breitbart posting (2009). Their report indicated that some 100 personnel from the Pyongyang University were hired to begin a coordinated effort to hack into South Korean and U.S. computer networks. South Korea has one of the world's highest per capital rates of Internet connectivity, while North Korea tightly controls what its public can do and see. It isn't known what these virtual troops are for -- for infiltrating or executing attacks or interruptions -- but clearly it is a new step in information connectivity for North Korea.