KB News Desk
North Korea’s expansion of its intelligence agency implies that the state views South Korea as one of several hostile states alongside Japan and the US, according to a report released Wednesday by the Korea Institute for National Unification.
The report, based on the first enlarged meeting of the ninth Central Military Commission held July 9, underscores North Korea’s efforts to enlarge the functions and responsibilities of the General Reconnaissance Information Bureau by expanding its missions and enhancing its intelligence gathering capabilities.
In the report, Hong Min, a senior researcher at the institute, writes that South Korea is no longer treated as a distinct category within the bureau’s operational mandate. He also noted that it is unusual for North Korea to specify its plans in such detail.
The bureau, formerly known as the Reconnaissance General Bureau, changed its name in September 2025. The new name signals the state’s plan to become a more comprehensive organization that collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence.
The change comes after North Korea announced its “two hostile states” doctrine in December 2023, which defines South Korea as a separate nation. The North also named South Korea as its “primary foe” during the ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in February.
Hong also pointed to the North’s deployment of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, and said that its involvement led to a higher demand to collect intelligence in Ukraine and NATO member states.
Hong outlined the bureau’s expanded role in four areas: military reconnaissance integrating satellites, drones and signals intelligence; overseas intelligence networks expanding to Europe and Southeast Asia; cyber operations combining intelligence gathering, foreign currency earnings and technology theft; and situation evaluation.
The reorganization of the bureau follows another institutional reorganization of the State Information Bureau, formerly the Ministry of State Security, in March.
According to Hong, the restructuring will reshape how North Korea defines the roles of its major intelligence agencies.
“The National Intelligence Agency (of North Korea) will be responsible for defensive intelligence including counterintelligence and domestic intelligence, while the GRIB will serve to provide offensive surveillance such as military reconnaissance, covert operations, cyber operations and overseas intelligence,” Hong said.
