North Korea held its first conference of military officers handling reconnoitering affairs, Pyongyang’s media said Thursday, a move seen as part of efforts to beef up the secretive nation’s spy and counterintelligence capabilities at home and abroad.
Leader Kim Jong-un had a photo session with participants in the Reconnoitering Officers’ Conference of the Korean People’s Army.
Kim praised them for their dedication to “the most difficult and dangerous” front, according to the Korean Central News Agency said. The report did not specify when and where the meeting was held.
“(The conference) marked an important occasion in bringing about a turning phase of…improving and strengthening the reconnoitering and intelligence service as required by the tense situation,” the KCNA said.
The move is widely seen as the North’s attempt to strengthen the military’s intelligence-gathering activities. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, is leading the North’s Reconnaissance General Bureau tasked with intelligence operations in foreign countries and cyber warfare.
The Reconnaissance General Bureau has reportedly focused on masterminding cyber attacks against South Korea and the United States. The bureau is known to be behind Pyongyang’s alleged cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment last year.
Washington blamed Pyongyang for hacking Sony Pictures to stop the Christmas Day release of “The Interview,” a lowbrow comedy movie involving a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim. (Yonhap)
