A significant breach has occurred, revealing that the personal and classified information of South Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) overseas agents at the forefront of the intelligence war against North Korea has been leaked to the North.
This includes data on ‘white agents’ who operate openly, such as diplomats, as well as ‘black agents’ who work undercover. For black agents, exposure of their true identities can be catastrophic, potentially leading to imprisonment, torture, or even execution. Disturbingly, this sensitive information was leaked through a laptop belonging to a civilian employee of the Intelligence Command, which is unacceptable.
The KDIC focuses on HUMINT (human intelligence) activities, including the deployment of covert operatives to North Korea. While the National Intelligence Service (NIS) oversees foreign and North Korean intelligence, the KDIC often handles undercover missions.
Black agents disguise their identities to interact with North Korean officials abroad, but establishing a local presence for them is challenging, and building a HUMINT network can take over a decade.
The hurried recall of exposed agents by the KDIC indicates that an extensive overseas intelligence network is at risk of collapsing, and once an intelligence network is compromised, it is nearly impossible to restore. Additionally, the lives of North Korean informants who have provided information to the South are now endangered.
In fact, in 2018, it was revealed that the head of a KDIC operation team had sold information on secret agents operating in China to China and Japan for 100,000 won ($72.25) per case. This betrayal endangered colleagues’ lives for a pittance. Consequently, it became challenging to deploy agents to China for some time.
In 2017, the Defense Integrated Data Center (DIDC), the central hub of S. Korean military, was hacked, resulting in 15 million confidential documents being leaked to the North, including plans for a decapitation strike and U.S.-provided North Korean intelligence.
However, the then-Defense Minister downplayed the incident, stating that there was no need to worry too much. This occurred under the administration of former S. Korean President Moon Jae-in, which advocated for protecting the country through dialogue.
Nonetheless, shortly after the current administration took office, a captain from a decapitation unit was caught providing operational plans to a North Korean agent in exchange for cryptocurrency worth approximately more than $34,600.
Earlier this year, an Indonesian employee at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was found to have been collecting information on the KF-21 fighter jet development, but the S. Korean government realized it too late.
Recently, when U.S. federal prosecutors indicted a Korean-American researcher who previously worked for the CIA and disclosed photos of him meeting with NIS officials, the Korean government was unaware of U.S. activities until then. Because of this, it is hard to refute criticism that our intelligence agencies are fundamentally flawed.
