By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President-elect Lee Myung-bak's transition team is pushing ahead with overhauling the roles and missions of the nation's spy agency to help its strengthen activities in collecting intelligence on North Korea, officials said Monday.
The incoming government will also streamline the agency drastically, replacing some 30 senior members, they said.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has often been criticized by conservatives for putting more emphasis on supporting the ``sunshine policy" of engaging North Korea than traditional anti-communism activities.
The top post of the agency is now vacant, as former NIS director Kim Man-bok resigned last month over his leaking of secret NIS documents of his private talks with his North Korean counterpart during his visit to Pyongyang Dec. 18, one day before South Korea's presidential election.
Kim was suspected of intentionally making his remarks in Pyongyang public in an effort to seek political favors from the President-elect. The prosecution is to investigate Kim for leaking confidential documents.
``Top agency officials criticized for their misconduct and irregularities are now said to be lobbying influential officials of the new government and the main opposition Grand National Party to save their jobs,'' a team official said. ``They are the ones that should be replaced first.''
The number of the agency's divisions will fall from three to two by integrating the first and third divisions whose roles were gathering intelligence overseas and about North Korea, respectively, he said.
The new government will also revive human intelligence (HUMINT) missions in China to help collect intelligence on North Korea, the official said.
The move is construed as the new administration's intention to have the agency focus more on anti-espionage operations rather than negotiations with the North.
``We should know more about what's going on in North Korea through HUMINT operations to resolve the stalemate over the North's nuclear weapons program,'' said Nam Sung-wook, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul who has advised the transition team on North Korean policies.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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