[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Did Security Authorities Recognize the Situation Before the Explosion?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] North Korea's demolition of the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office on the 16th was carried out swiftly following a single 'destruction order' from Kim Yo-jong, the First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party.

According to military sources on the 17th, unusual signs such as vehicle movements suspected of transporting explosives around the Kaesong liaison office area were detected starting from the 13th, the day Kim Yo-jong's statement was released.

These circumstances were also detected through military surveillance assets. In the southern area of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the western front, the liaison office buildings in Kaesong were observed using TOD (thermal observation devices) and other equipment. In her statement issued around 9 p.m. on the 13th, Kim Yo-jong declared that she was handing over the authority for the 'next hostile action' to the General Staff of the People's Army, warning that "soon, you will witness the miserable sight of the useless North-South Joint Liaison Office collapsing without a trace," thereby foreshadowing the demolition.

A government official said, "Our intelligence agencies detected North Korea installing bombs but could not predict when the button would be pressed."

Kim Yeon-chul, Minister of Unification, appeared at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary session on the 16th and commented on the explosion of the Kaesong Inter-Korean Liaison Office, saying, "There were some prior indications," and "We need to confirm the situation more precisely." This implies that while the movement toward demolition was known, the exact timing was not predicted. After news of the demolition was reported, Minister Kim left the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee to check the situation on-site.

The military responded similarly. On the 16th, starting at 1 p.m., General Park Han-ki, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a video conference with commanders of all military units. Around 2:49 p.m., as the meeting was concluding, he received news of the liaison office explosion and ended the meeting. He then went down to the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Combat Control Room with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo to direct the related situation.

As North Korea's provocative situation escalated rapidly, the military decided to more than double its surveillance and reconnaissance efforts. Our forces plan to simultaneously utilize reconnaissance aircraft such as Geumgang and Baekdu (RC-800) and Saemae (RF-16). The RF-16, nicknamed 'Saemae,' flies over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the Northern Limit Line (NLL) to collect video intelligence related to North Korean forces. Normally, the Saemae reconnaissance aircraft flies once a day, but following the demolition of the liaison office on the 16th, an emergency standby team was deployed to increase flights to twice daily. However, since it takes a long time to analyze the footage, there are plans to increase the flight frequency of the Geumgang and Baekdu (RC-800) reconnaissance aircraft as well. The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft, upgraded in 2017, can detect North Korea's electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint), capturing the operation of equipment such as radar and the content of wired and wireless communications.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.