[Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club] How Are U.S. Surveillance and Wiretapping Conducted?

As it has been revealed that U.S. intelligence agencies wiretapped and eavesdropped on the South Korean government, security inspection issues during the relocation of the Yongsan Presidential Office have resurfaced as a controversy. This is due to the possibility that U.S. intelligence agencies installed wiretapping devices in key offices of the Presidential Office.

According to intelligence authorities on the 10th, intelligence agencies use various methods for wiretapping. The National Security Agency (NSA), a representative U.S. personal information collection agency,

conducts much broader espionage activities by intercepting data transmission cables or radio waves from walkie-talkies in the middle. Its data center is located in the State of Utah. NSA hires linguists and mathematicians for cryptanalysis along with supercomputers for wiretapping, and it monitors over a billion various communications such as emails and phone calls.

It is also known to have established key bases at 20 major locations worldwide and collects all internet data passing through intercontinental ultra-high-speed optical cable networks. However, experts believe that if wiretapping was conducted on allied countries, it is highly likely that a wiretapping system was established.

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Since the 2010s, the NSA has built a wiretapping system called ‘Operation Stateroom.’ This method involves U.S. intelligence agencies setting up front companies in target buildings to wiretap wireless communications. It became known after Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee, exposed it in 2013. At that time, it was revealed that Beijing, China, was also included in the operation, leading China to strongly protest to the U.S. and conduct searches throughout Beijing.

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is also capable of wiretapping. The NRO owns five reconnaissance satellites that collect signals intelligence (SIGINT), enabling not only communication interception (COMINT) but also radar signal collection (ELINT). Additionally, the U.S. Forces Korea established a Human Intelligence (HUMINT) unit in 2017 to strengthen intelligence gathering. This is the 524th Intelligence Battalion, the fifth battalion within the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade under the Eighth U.S. Army. HUMINT involves collecting information through ‘people’ such as intelligence agents, insiders, and spies. A representative from a wireless eavesdropping detection company said, “It is highly likely that wiretapping devices were directly installed inside government agencies,” adding, “If a wiretapping device less than 1 cm is installed on electrical cords carrying current, conversations of insiders can be heard in real time.”

Domestically, there are claims that wiretapping occurred when the presidential office was moved to Yongsan. Kim Byung-joo, a four-star general and member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on Facebook on the 9th, “This incident may be related to the hasty relocation of the presidential office,” and added, “There is a U.S. military base right next to the current presidential office wall, which could cause gaps in wiretapping or security measures.”

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