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Spy agency, military under fire for not dealing with N. Korea

The state intelligence agency and the military came under fire Thursday after it became known that they did not take due measures although the agency detected signs of a possible North Korean attack on the five border islands in the West Sea in August.

National Intelligence Service director Won Sei-hoon told a parliamentary intelligence committee Wednesday that the agency confirmed the possibility of a North Korean attack on the islands through wiretapping, according to lawmakers who attended the closed-door session.

Won, however, was quoted by the lawmakers as saying, “(The agency) did not expect the North to launch an attack on civilians as it has routinely shown menacing words and behaviors. The military authorities judged that the North could mount an attack just south of the maritime border.”

The lawmakers said the content of the wiretapping was that the North instructed its artillery units in the west coastal region to be ready for firing.

The Nov. 23 artillery shelling on Yeonpyeong Island near the Northern Limit Line, a de facto sea border which the North does not recognize and claims should be redrawn further south, killed four South Koreans including two civilians.

Public criticism has been rising as the military and the intelligence agency were not properly preparing troops on the islands even when the North has recently ramped up its level of provocations and belligerent verbal threats.

The North fired its coastal artillery shells in the West Sea in January, none of which fell in waters south of the NLL.

However, when the North fired its artillery rounds in August, some of them fell south of the NLL, hinting at the possibility that it could mount an attack on the civilian-inhabited islands.

The communist state has repeatedly warned of “physical retaliatory strikes” in a series of official statements, underscoring that their warnings were “by no means empty talks.”

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which holds peacetime operational control, denied what the spy chief said.

“(The NIS) obtained the intelligence on North Korea instructing its coastal artillery unit to be prepared to fire back in response to our troops’ plan to stage a live-fire exercise in August,” said JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Bung-woo in a press briefing, denying that the North was preparing for an “attack on the five border islands.”

The Marine unit on Yeonpyeong Island conducted live-fire exercises with K9 self-propelled howitzers on Aug. 6 and Aug. 8.

The North fired around 110 coastal artillery shells on Aug. 9. About 10 of the shells landed south of the NLL.

Some critics also expressed concern that there might be problems with the spy agency’s analysis of the hard-earned intelligence, saying that the agency appears to have been “lax” in drawing conclusions based on its intelligence.

During Wednesday’s session at the National Assembly, Won also said that the satellite imagery showed that out of the 80 shells the South Korean military fired back, only 45 shells were confirmed to have fallen on North Korean land ? 15 shells in Mudo and 30 shells in Gaemeori.

After the artillery attack began, the South Korean military fired 50 rounds at Mudo and 30 rounds at Gaemeori.

Strategic Forecasting, Inc., a global intelligence company better known as STRATFOR, revealed a satellite imagery showing that many of the K9 shells fell on paddy fields in the North rather than on military facilities.

On the imagery posted on its website, 14 shells were seen to have landed in paddy fields in Gaemeori. It said that imagery was taken on Nov. 26 by the Digital Globe, a satellite picture firm.

This has called into question the capability of the indigenous K9 howitzer, which the military has touted for its strong firepower although some claimed that soldiers performed quite well with the howitzers without adequate intelligence gathering equipment in the emergency situation.

“We were briefed that the K9 howitzer could devastate objects within a radius of 50 meters, but (the satellite imagery) shows just little things were strewn along paddy fields. The NIS chief should scrutinize the case and report it to the president,” said Rep. Kim Moo-sung, floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party, during the party’s Supreme Council meeting.

“I was happy to hear that our military could fire back with K9 howitzers within five minutes of the North firing and was capable of devastating North Korean artillery positions … The public should know the current situation in the military and I hope this serves as an opportunity for military reform.”

During his opening remarks at the parliamentary session, Won said there is a high possibility of North Korea making additional provocations.

“The North is trying to neutralize the NLL and make the five border islands a disputed region. By ratcheting up tensions, the North is taking great pains to secure allegiance for Kim Jong-un (the heir apparent) and support from China,” Won said.

“There is a high possibility of more provocations and (the North) is seeking to divide public opinion (in the South).”

-The Korea Herald/Asia News Network