North Korea has been accused by South Korea’s intelligence service of planning “terrorist” attacks against its embassies and expatriates. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that they had detected signs of North Korea planning such attacks in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
In response, Seoul raised its alert level for its diplomatic missions in five countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Shenyang in China and Vladivostok in Russia. These locations also have diplomatic representations from North Korea.
The NIS stated that North Korea had sent agents to these countries to increase surveillance on South Korean embassies and were also searching for South Korean citizens who could be potential terrorist targets. The threats are believed to be connected to a wave of defections from North Korean expatriates who were stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are now trying to avoid returning home. Defection is punishable by severe penalties in North Korea not only for the defector but also for their families and anyone linked to them.
The NIS suspects that North Korean diplomats are sending false reports to Pyongyang accusing South Korea of encouraging defections in order to avoid being indirectly held responsible and punished. As a result, the regime may be preparing to retaliate against South Korean diplomats. In 2020, 196 North Koreans arrived in South Korea, the highest number since 2017, with some being part of North Korea’s elite such as diplomats and their families. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently declared South Korea as his country’s “main enemy” and deemed any prospect of reunification as futile.
