of the Japanese man’s real name as “Oyasuki.â€? After a number of years, Oyasuki was sent to work at the vinalon fabric-manufacturing factory in Hamhung City. Kwon was invited to attend Oyasuki’s wedding to a Japanese woman in Hamhung, and since he was as a member of the SSD, he was able to travel anywhere in North Korea and attended the wedding. He could not recall the woman’s name when HRNK interviewed him in Seoul in February, 2011, but it is quite possible that defector Kwon had come to know two Japanese abductees. After His 2008 Stroke, Kim Jong-il Reorganized his Espionage Agencies On February 25, 2009, Kim Jong-il ordered a major restructuring referred to as “the 225 Instructions.â€? Several departments were separated from the KWP and transferred to the Korean People’s Army, reporting to the National Defense Commission (NDC).36 A former director of the Operations Department from 1989-2009, General O Kuk-ryol, was put in charge of the newly created “Reconnaissance General %XUHDX Âľ ZKLFK FRPELQHG WKH .:3¡V 2SHUDWLRQV %XUHDX DQG 2IĂ€FH 1R ZLWK the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces Reconnaissance Bureau. This suggests that, at the highest levels, the regime has adopted a more aggressive policy focused on South Korea, creating an organization that is more structured under the military FRPPDQG DQG FRQWURO UDWKHU WKDQ XQGHU WKH OHVVHU H[SHUWLVH RI SROLWLFDO RIĂ€FHUV LQ the KWP. Two parts of the new RGB—the former Operations Department and the 5HFRQQDLVVDQFH %XUHDXÂłKDYH VXEVWDQWLDO PDULWLPH FDSDELOLWLHV IRU LQĂ€OWUDWLQJ intelligence agents into South Korea and Japan. This new organizational structure is headquartered in Pyongyang and has six bureaus: Operations, consisting primarily RI WKH IRUPHU .:3 2SHUDWLRQV 'HSDUWPHQW 5HFRQQDLVVDQFH ZKLFK LV SULPDULO\ WKH $UP\¡V IRUPHU 5HFRQQDLVVDQFH %XUHDX )RUHLJQ ,QWHOOLJHQFH ZKLFK LV EDVHG RQ WKH IRUPHU 2IĂ€FH WZR RWKHU EXUHDXV WKDW FROOHFW KXPDQ DQG HOHFWURQLF LQWHOOLJHQFH DQG D VL[WK WKDW SURYLGHV ORJLVWLFDO DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLYH VXSSRUW IRU WKH entire organization.37 New Trends in North Korea’s Overseas Espionage Efforts What has become clear is that Kim Jong-il’s 2002 apology has not ended North Korea’s abductions of foreign citizens. North Korean foreign intelligence operations since 2000 include a more militarily aggressive strategy involving clandestine military operations in neighboring countries. Recent abductions 36
Eya, Osamu, “Go nin Kikoku no Shikakenin Fukken de Futatabi Ugoki dasu Megumi san Shibou Kosaku� SAPIO magazine, Shogakukan, December 16, 2009, 106. 37 Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., “A New Emphasis on Operations Against South Korea,� 38 North, U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, June 11, 2010. Online at: www.38north.org/?p=920. Pp. 4-10.
80