South Korea’s main spy agency quietly went through an internal restructuring and has started to deal the North Korean issue not just as an inter-Korean matter, but more from an international perspective, a major daily said on Saturday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) recently removed its department that specifically deals with North Korea and placed it under another body within the organization that deals with international affairs, Chosun Ilbo reported.

A senior government source told the newspaper that the change reflects President Lee Myung-bak’s view that the North Korean issue should now be dealt more from the international geopolitical perspective.

The change was reportedly made during the visit by the North Korean delegation to Seoul to pay tribute to the late President Kim Dae-Jung this year. At that time, another senior government official was cited to use the term “paradigm shift” in dealing with North Korean issue.

Analysts view the move reflects of an “upgrade” of the North Korean issue.

With the change, the North Korea issue now rests with Kim Sook, a former chief nuclear envoy.

The spy agency declined to confirm the change, citing internal rules, according to the newspaper.