Intelligence Collection: “KCTU Labor Union Cadres Entered U.S. Military Bases, Photographed Facilities, and Sent the Pictures to North Korea”

2023-3-29, Dong-A Ilbo [TRANSLATION]

It was revealed on March 28, 2023 that Mr. A, the Director of Organization of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU, MinNoChong), who was arrested on March 27 for violating the National Security Law, entered the U.S. military bases in Pyeongtaek and Osan, Gyeonggi Province, in 2021, toured military facilities, and even took photographs. He is also accused of forwarding these photos to North Korea.

[Note:  The Director of Organization at KCTU is Suk Kwon-ho (석권호).  For more on the North Korea-directed Spy Rings in South Korea, see here, here, and here.]

According to compiled Dong-A Ilbo news reports, Mr. A is accused of taking photographs of major facilities and equipment [and weapons] at the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) base (Camp Humphreys) in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, around February 2021 (for the purpose of violating the National Security Act).

Around the same time, Mr. A toured and photographed Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, which is jointly operated by the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States, investigations reveal. Public security authorities, including the National Intelligence Service and the police, believe he took close-up shots of not only the exterior of military facilities but also key facilities and equipment such as runways, hangars, and Patriot missile batteries.

It is understood that Mr. A transmitted the photographs to an operative of the Cultural Exchange Bureau (문화교류국) (formerly Bureau 225), North Korea’s agency for conducting operations against South Korea. It is said that the photos were sent mainly through the “Cyber Dvock” method, which shared foreign email IDs and accounts.

The authorities assess that Mr. A took photographs of the USFK bases and sent them to North Korea on North Korea’s orders. The fact that he received an order from a North Korean agent in early 2019 to “collect data on national security facilities in the southern part of Gyeonggi” has already been confirmed through search and seizures by the authorities.

[Note:  He also received orders from North Korea to “collect relevant secret data, such as the Blue House, the military bases near Pyongtaek, thermal power plants, and LNG storage facilities to prepared for a contingency.”]

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Source:  https://www.donga.com/news/Society/article/all/20230328/118566401/1