This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/seouls-spy-service-says-north-korea-is-preparing-attacks/2016/02/17/c18e3a0e-d5fa-11e5-a65b-587e721fb231_story.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Seoul’s spy service says North Korea is preparing attacks Seoul’s spy service says North Korea is preparing attacks
(about 1 hour later)
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s spy agency has told ruling party officials that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently ordered preparations for launching attacks on South Korea, in the latest sign of high tensions on the Korean peninsula after the North’s recent nuclear test and missile launch. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently ordered preparations for launching attacks on South Korea, the South’s spy agency disclosed Thursday, as worries about the North grow after its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
One official from the Saenuri Party who attended Thursday’s closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service says Kim’s spy agency has begun work to implement his order to “actively muster capabilities” to launch cyber and other attacks on South Korea. In a closed-door briefing to ruling Saenuri Party members, the National Intelligence Service said Kim’s spy agency has begun work to implement his order to “actively muster capabilities” to carry out cyber and other attacks on South Korea, according to one Saenuri official who attended the meeting.
North Korea has a history of attacks against South Korea, but it is impossible to independently confirm what’s really happening in the secretive North Korea. North Korea has a history of attacks on South Korea, such as the 2010 shelling on an island that killed four South Koreans and the 1987 bombing of a South Korean passenger plane that killed all 115 people on board. But it is impossible to independently confirm claims about any such attack preparations.
The Saenuri official refused to say whether the briefing discussed how the information has been obtained. The Saenuri official refused to say whether the briefing discussed how the information was obtained. The NIS, which has a mixed record on predicting developments in North Korea, said it could not confirm its reported assessment.
He requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to media on the briefing. During the briefing, the NIS, cited studies on past North Korean provocations and other unspecified assessments and said the attacks could target anti-Pyongyang activists, defectors and government officials in South Korea, the Saenuri official said requesting anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to media publicly.
The spy agency said the attacks could target anti-Pyongyang activists, defectors and government officials. Attacks on subways, shopping malls and other public places could also happen, he said.
The comments come a day after four of the most advanced U.S. fighter jets flew over South Korea in a clear show of force against North Korea amid a festering standoff over its nuclear and missile ambitions. The official quoted the NIS as saying North Korea could launch poisoning attacks on the activists and defectors, or lure them to China where they would be kidnapped.
The stealthy, high-tech F-22 planes capable of sneaking past radar undetected landed at Osan Air Base near Seoul after the flyover escorted by other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets. The current North Korea standoff isn’t expected to calm down soon, as Seoul and Washington are discussing deploying a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system in South Korea that Pyongyang warns would be a source of regional tension.
Pyongyang will likely view the arrival of the planes flown from a U.S. base in Japan as a threat as they are a display of U.S. airpower apparently aimed at showing what the United States can do to defend its ally South Korea from potential aggression from North Korea. The allies also say their upcoming annual springtime military drills will be the largest ever. The North says the drills are preparation to stage a northward invasion.
The U.S. military would not say how long the F-22s will be deployed in South Korea. Seoul defense officials also said that they began preliminary talks on Feb. 7 with the United States on deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, the same day North Korea conducted what it said was a satellite launch but is condemned by Seoul and Washington as a banned test of missile technology.
The United States often sends powerful warplanes to South Korea in times of tension with North Korea. Last month it sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea after North Korea defiantly conducted its fourth nuclear test. The talks are aimed at working out details for formal missile deployment talks, such as who’ll represent each side, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.
The international standoff over North Korea deepened earlier this month when Pyongyang ignored repeated warnings by regional powers and fired a long-range rocket carrying what it calls an Earth observation satellite. Washington, Seoul and others consider the launch a prohibited test of missile technology. The deployment is opposed by China and Russia too. Opponents say the system could help U.S. radar spot missiles in other countries.
The United States on Wednesday flew four stealth F-22 fighter jets over South Korea and reaffirmed it maintains an “ironclad commitment” to the defense of its Asian ally. Last month, it sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber to South Korea following the North’s fourth nuclear test.
Foreign analysts say the North’s rocket launch and nuclear test put the country further along it its quest for a nuclear-armed missile that could reach the U.S. mainland.Foreign analysts say the North’s rocket launch and nuclear test put the country further along it its quest for a nuclear-armed missile that could reach the U.S. mainland.
South Korea’s president on Tuesday warned North Korea faces collapse if it doesn’t abandon its nuclear bomb program, an unusually strong broadside that is certain to infuriate Pyongyang.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.