Under the title "A Black Box Walking on Two Legs... What is the Secret Behind the Failure to Spy on Kim?" Sky News reported that North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Un have long posed a riddle for the world, as sources of information about them are extremely scarce, if not completely nonexistent. In light of this lack of information, South Korea stands out as the nearly sole news source regarding this isolated communist state, typically presenting information attributed to "intelligence" from the official Yonhap Agency.
South Korean intelligence officers usually provide confidential briefings to parliament members, who swiftly leak this information to local and international media. However, this intelligence has failed numerous times, reporting news that later proved to be pure fantasy and unrelated to the reality of North Korea or its leader, Kim Jong Un. The most recent incident occurred a few days ago, when it was reported that Kim Jong Un was in poor health due to a brain hemorrhage and had lost 20 kilograms. Yet, he appeared on July 8 in front of his late grandfather's mausoleum and the state founder Kim Il Sung during a ceremony commemorating his death.
Ironically, it was the South Korean intelligence that denied the report after it was leaked to the media and parliamentarians, labeling the information as "baseless." Kim may have lost some weight, according to analyses of his recent appearance, but this remains merely speculation without clear supporting information. This is not the first instance; last year, South Korean officials claimed Kim Jong Un was ill, only for him to later appear before cameras to refute those reports.
In 2016, South Korean intelligence officials claimed that the former North Korean Army chief, Ri Yong-gil, had been executed, but he later appeared at a public party conference, even receiving new titles. The Associated Press previously reported that when it comes to spying on North Korea, the South Koreans appear to make significant errors.
Indeed, spying on one of the world's most closed-off nations is no easy task, but grave mistakes raise substantial questions, especially given that the South Korean intelligence budget amounts to billions of dollars. Understanding what happens in North Korea is critically important for South Korea, as the capital Seoul is not far from the demarcation line between the two countries and is within range of Northern missiles. The United States and Japan also partially rely on South Korean intelligence regarding the North.
South Korean intelligence frequently faces criticism from parliament members and the press due to their unforgivable mistakes concerning North Korea. In an attempt to disengage from any accountability in case of incorrect information, intelligence officials request to attribute the information to "a source familiar with North Korean affairs."
This phenomenon may be explained by North Korea's strict isolation and the limited verification tools available to South Korean intelligence. Additionally, intelligence leaks might serve as a propaganda tool in the inter-state struggle. Observers note that successive governments in South Korea have disclosed incomplete, unverified information about North Korea when they believed it would benefit them by portraying their northern neighbor as an unstable and dangerous state.
