North Korea's Reconnaissance Bureau - Coursework Example

North Koreas Reconnaissance Bureau North Koreas Reconnaissance Bureau The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is currently one ofthe potential threats that the U.S intelligence has to follow and monitor closely. The main reason for this is that the country has currently increased its provocation threats against South Korea and its allies, which include U.S and Japan. North Korea has openly declared the willingness to target the U.S and South Korea as well as their interests. One of the missions of the country’s intelligence and military is destabilising the relationship that exists between the two countries. Another mission for developing North Korea’s intelligence if to destabilise South Korea, and provoke a conflict that would lead to war in the peninsula as a test of its military might and effectiveness of its military intelligence.1 The recent developments of long-range missiles have the potential to threaten the U.S and its interests in Japan and in South Korea, the success of which has to depend on intelligence might of North Korea. One body mandated to undertake sophisticated intelligence gathering to facilitate such or other attacks is the highly trained and well-equipped North Koreas Reconnaissance Bureau. The body is an extension of the military intelligence networks and forms the background for North Korea’s military might and its preparedness to attack its interests. The North Koreas Reconnaissance Bureau is mandated to collect any possible tactical, operational and strategic intelligence on behalf of the Ministry of the People’s armed Forces. The intelligence networks are responsible for clandestine operations and are made of six strategic bureaus with each bureau having a special role. The different bureaus are divided into differing groups with special mandates related any of the following: operations, technology and cyber overseas intelligence, service support and inter-Korean talks.2 One of the bureaus tasks is to infiltrate intelligence networks and personnel especially in South Korea and any of her allies such as the United States. The intelligence groups are spread all over the country, though they are more active at the demilitarised zone than in other areas. The intelligence organisation may also have some of its presence outside North Korea such as in China or in South Korea where they collect intelligence information undercover. The Bureau also uses tunnels to infiltrate South Korea and in seaborne assertions. The Reconnaissance Bureau operates under the control of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces (MPAF).3 Its main mission are to infiltrate strategic agents in South Korea, conduct extensive counterespionage in North Korea, and undertake technological attacks such as cyber-attacks among others.4 The intelligence body is also responsible for monitoring telephone conversations of top military personnel and investigates any case of draft dodging. The bureau has a core role as an informant network operating several stations at the borders of China and South Korea to conduct undercover and direct investigations concerning military and civilian cases.5 In general, the Reconnaissance Bureau is mandated to control and investigate the lives of all North Korea citizens and the private and public life of any visitors. The intelligence body is also responsible for preventing illegal foreign trade flow into the country. Considering that North Korea has the third largest military personnel and has been investing heavily on intelligence networks and in the military, North Koreas Reconnaissance Bureau, as the main intelligence body within and outside the country is a high threat to South Korea and her allies such as the United States. The Reconnaissance Bureau has sophisticated undercover skills and knowledge that makes it possible to undertake cyber-attacks and surveillance of U.S interests, a potential threat to subsequent attacks and economic terrorism. The U.S Department of Defence predicted that North Korean military had developed a sophisticated military Office of Cyber Operations (OCO), which is a threat to U.S.6 OCO has a been a strategic tool that facilitates the military, through Reconnaissance Bureau, to intercept vital information about U.S or any other country. OCO has enough sophistication to hack into websites of its targets and steal information on warfare or weaponry, which North Korea would use against the country of interest. Hacking of U.S military websites may compromise its defence or lead to leakage of vital information about weapons. . For instance, since 2009, OCOC has been a strategic tool in collecting intelligence reports from South Korea and disrupting its networks through hacking into South Korean servers. Between 2009 and 2011, Reconnaissance Bureau through OCO managed to attack many South Korean sites through denial of service, attacks against government, commercial and military websites, which rendered these sites inaccessible for some time.7 Accessing South Korean’s military websites is a threat not only to South Korea, but may be considered medium threat to U.S. This is because South Korea and U.S have been involved in a number of military drills in the Korean Peninsula. Any leakage of such information would lender the military drills vulnerable to attacks, which is a threat to U.S. army. Having carried out successful cyber-attacks in South Korea between 2009 and 2013, there are reports that North Korea has been trying to access vital websites about U.S intelligence networks and weaponry.8 Hern explained that since 2010, North Korea through its intelligence bodies had conducted more than 6000 cyber-attacks against, South Korea. The most serious of the attacks was bringing down of the South Korea’s Presidential website and attacking of banks, where six banks were affected translating to more than 3000 computers.9 The attack led to massive disruption of South Korea financial services. With such sophisticated cyber technology, there are worries that the U.S might be the next victim of North Korea’s attack, as the country seeks military and weapon technologies especially about nuclear technologies. The Reconnaissance Bureau through its cyber technology branch may also launch economic terrorism against U.S banks or other essential services. This threat could result into serious consequences to the U.S and her interests. The threat is worsened by the fact that North Korea has about 3000 specialists working in cyber warfare and intercepting crucial information.10 With such a huge number of specialists working on cyber warfare, a cyber-attack on U.S installations to retrieve information or disrupt services remains real and high threat. North Korea Reconnaissance Bureau poses a high threat to U.S due to the country’s unending hunger for nuclear weapons despite its low resources and out-dated technologies. Recognising the might of U.S military in nuclear programs, the Korean intelligence body is determined to possess critical information and technology about nuclear and missile technologies. South Korea depends on the extended deterrence plan surveillance/reconnaissance, interception, precision strikes supported by U.S to protect itself and U.S interests based in Japan and South Korea.11 Considering such threats, U.S and South Korea have to deploy high-tech network based warfare, which may include destruction of North Korea’s nuclear weapons before they are fired and intercepting them on the flights after they are fired. One way that North Korea Reconnaissance Bureau could use to ensure the deployment of their nuclear weapons successfully would be intercepting and infiltrating the high-tech technology used by South Korea and United States. This is currently a low threat, which the U.S may not ignore on the long term. The sophisticated cyber and overseas intelligence group of the Reconnaissance Bureau, in its task to infiltrate intelligence websites in South Korea, may stumble upon leads that could offer the much-needed technology that would lead to the development of systems that disable such interception technologies. Such hacking would leave both the U.S and South Korea vulnerable to serious attacks. The cyber-attacks explain the U.S government worries about the on-going cyber-attacks sponsored by North Korea.12 There are reliable indications that the North Korea intelligence body may have links to terrorism groups in the Middle East and might supply them with weapons. Fulford in a Forbes on North Korea and terrorism noted that North Korea had close links to Pakistan, especially the supporters of Afghanistan Taliban officials.13 The intelligence body could share their missile technologies to Al-Qaida related groups fighting with western powers or help such groups to attack the U.S or its interests. Such a move would be a great threat to U.S citizens and its properties of interest, which terrorism seems to focus. The threats target property, lives and U.S commercial interests. Relation with terrorist groups has made Washington group classify North Korea as a leading supporter of terrorism across the globe and raising an alert about the activities of the country in the Middle East.14 Moreover, to acquire foreign exchange and especially U.S dollars, North Korea through its intelligence body has been shipping and selling tons of drugs such as Heroine and amphetamine to Russia, China and Japan on transit to the U.S and Europe.15 One aspect that makes the North Korean Reconnaissance Bureau have connections with this trade is that the body has tight control of any foreign exchange that enters the country and prevents illegal flow of the currencies into its territory. As such, the intelligence body controls any foreign exchange from the sale of drugs on behalf of the Korean government. The tight control prevents people from trading such drugs on an individual basis across its borders. As such, North Korea does not only threaten the commercial and infrastructural developments by developing sophisticated weapons, but it also threatens the health of U.S citizens. Considering the U.S is a ready market for illicit drugs today, North Korean illicit drugs do threaten the health of millions of drug users in U.S. North Korea Reconnaissance Bureau is an intelligence group operates undercover under North Korea Peoples Forces with sophisticated and active intelligence seeking operations targeting South Korea, U.S. and Japan. The intelligence body has several groups specialised in different operatives with the cyber and overseas technology group involved in hacking into websites of sensitive departments of other countries to retrieve critical information and as an economic terrorism activity. The intelligence body is also involved in seeking necessary leads in its development of nuclear weapons. The country has declared its intentions to attack its neighbours and has even developed long-range missiles with the potential to attack the U.S homeland interests. North Koreas rhetoric makes the intelligence body a threat to U.S military operations and other vital information related to nuclear weapons. The intelligence body, therefore, is a threat to populations, installation’s and the economy of U.S, which North Korea has declared as an enemy and has even threatened to attack. Bibliography Fulford, Benjamin. “North Korea: Another Outcropping of Terrorism.” Forbes. Sept. 18, 2005. http://www.forbes.com/2001/09/18/0918fulford.html Hern Alex. “North Korean ‘cyberwarfare’ said to have cost South Korea £500m.” The Guardian, Oct. 16, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/16/north-korean-cyber-warfare-south-korea Kim, Du-Ki. “The Republic of Korea’s counter-asymmetric strategy.” Naval War College Review 65, no.1 (2012): 55-74. Oh, D. Kong and Hassig, C. Ralph. North Korea through the Looking Glass. Washington D.C: The Brookings Institution, 2000. U.S Department of Defense. “Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” A Report to Congress Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. 2013. Williamson Lucy. “South Korea raises alert with North to vital threat.” BBC News, April 10, 2013. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22092051 Read More