[imText1]There has been a hubbub regarding North Korean National Security Agency for their arrest of foreign spies and North Korean citizens accused of contacting foreign spies.
Li Su Gil, the spokesperson for National Security Agency, held a press conference on the 5th and exposed the arrest of foreign spies to foreign press.
The Xinhua, a Chinese news agency, reported that, “a number of foreigners who retained information on the important military facilities in North Korea have been arrested.”
On August 5, around 4 p.m., AFP announced the same thing catching off from China’s Xinhua.
“Spokesperson for National Security Agency” is an unknown post for North Koreans. The most important factor is that there has not been such an announcement regarding the foreign spies for a long time.
There has been a similar case in the past which was known as the espionage issue of “Dakashi Skishima, a reporter of Nihon Geizai Shimbun.”
On 1999, December Japan’s Nihon Geizai Shimbun Reporter Dakashi Skishima, who had visited North Korea 5 times after late-1980s, was arrested under the allegation as a spy. But this incident was not publicly announced and there was no spokesperson for National Security Agency involved.
North Korean authorities announced later to Japanese government that Skishima collected information using a highly efficient camera and recorder.
Skishima was let go on February 2002, but this was generally seen as a gesture to alleviate the relationship between Japan and North Korea back then. Seven months later, on 2002 September, Koizumi Prime Minister first visited Pyongyang.
The foreign spies announced by NSA may be Japanese
North Korean citizens, if without prior approval by their government, can be arrested for being spies for contacting and relating to foreigners. Therefore, it is important to notice that there has been citizens involved in the incident as well.
Firstly, these kinds of reactions taken by North Korean authorities can be interpreted as their warning to prevent information from flowing out to third countries and Japan.
So far, the information regarding the status quo of North Korea has been disseminated through cameras and transmitted to Japan, South Korea, US and Europe. UN Commission on Human Rights utilized the footage of the North Korean public executions (released by Daily NK exclusively on 25th of March, 2005) as a public evidence of North Korean human rights situation.
Kim Myung Cheol (pseudonym, entrance upon South Korea since 1999 ), former National Security Agency, stated that, “When foreigners try to take pictures or film the North Korean citizens and they get caught, that is considered being a spy. What’s more, the North Koreans who helped them are also considered as spies.”
He stated that, “Spies are usually caught by the National Security Agency, but such kinds of espionage issues are released to the public through the lectures’ materials for political education by the Social Safety Agency (the police) or the Judicature. Hence, a public announcement like this is truly a rarity.”
Secondly, the fact that this announcement was made prior to the DPRK-Japan Normalization working group meeting held on 5th of September is important to notice.
North Korea’s negotiation strategy always involves other extra methods in pursuing a hard-line policy simply engaging in the negotiation itself. Taking the short-range missiles launch during the Six Party Talks or Inter-Korea Talks were valid evidence.
In order for North Korea to gain the upper hand in the DPRK-Japan Normalization Meeting, this sudden “foreign spy announcement” can be traced as one of North Korea’s negotiation strategies. Therefore, it is difficult to exclude the possibility that the foreign spies arrested by the NSA may be Japanese.
However, it is quite difficult to see this NSA’s announcement as a simple issue. If the spies were to be announced as Americans, or South Koreans, the repercussions of that fact will ripple over and create a huge hubbub in the international relations.
It is of utmost importance to watch for North Korean authorities’ next move.
