Unusual Alert Raised... North Korea Attempts Terror Against Our Citizens

Government Issues Terror Alert Warning... Unusually Rapid Increase
'North Korea Attempts Harm Against Our Diplomatic Staff' Intelligence
National Intelligence Service: "False Report to Kim Jong-un Followed by Retaliation Attempt"

Intelligence has been obtained that North Korea is attempting to harm our citizens, leading to an unprecedented two-level escalation of the terror alert for overseas diplomatic missions.

On the 3rd, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Affairs Coordination Office's Anti-Terrorism Center, the government raised the terror alert for overseas diplomatic missions in five countries from 'Interest' to 'Caution.' The targeted missions are the Embassy in Cambodia, Embassy in Laos, Embassy in Vietnam, Consulate General in Vladivostok, and Consulate General in Shenyang. All the missions and countries where terror threats were detected are regions considered major routes for North Korean defectors.

The terror alert is divided into four levels according to the degree of threat: Interest, Caution, Warning, and Severe. The Warning level is issued when there is a high likelihood of a terror incident occurring. The National Intelligence Service explained, "North Korea has dispatched agents to these countries to expand surveillance of South Korean diplomatic missions and is conducting specific activities such as scouting our citizens as terror targets."

Intelligence authorities believe that North Korea's preparations for terror against our citizens stem from 'false reports.' After the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korean authorities began repatriation efforts in the second half of last year for elite students, trade workers, and diplomatic staff who were overseas. During this process, there were numerous cases of individuals who had been staying abroad long-term for foreign currency earnings refusing to return to North Korea and defecting. To avoid responsibility, surveillance agencies such as the Ministry of State Security reportedly submitted false reports to Chairman Kim Jong-un claiming these were 'external acts.'

Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea guiding the Korean People's Army tank soldiers during a large-scale joint unit training exercise
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, it is considered unusual for a terror alert to be raised by two levels at once during peacetime, outside of periods preparing for major national events. This is the first time in 15 years that the alert level has been raised by two steps at once. The last time a terror alert was raised by two levels at once was in 2009, when the alert for the Jeju region was raised from 'Caution' to 'Severe' in preparation for the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit.

The criteria for issuing the 'Warning' alert for the five overseas diplomatic missions include cases where terror organizations have directly targeted South Korea or when large-scale terror-related means have been detected. At the 'Warning' level, anti-terror situation rooms are activated by relevant agencies to prepare for actual response. A National Intelligence Service official stated, "We will strengthen intelligence activities with the possibility of terror in mind not only in the countries where signs of North Korean terror threats have been detected but also in other regions."