Amid North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s alleged illness, intelligence agents from around the world, notably South Korea, the United States and Japan, are flocking to China’s cities that border North Korea, Beijing-based International Herald Leader said Friday.
“Some countries have keen interest in collecting North Korea-related information by using satellites, dispatch of agents, and even dropping spies from an airplane. Among the countries, the United States, South Korea, and Japan are most active,” it said.
The newspaper said, “The spies not only collect information related to Kim Jong-il’s health, but also the country’s food reserves, steel production, energy need, new appointment of ranking political figures, nuclear research and policy changes.”
The spy agencies of these three countries are in close cooperation among themselves, with key operations done by American CIA, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, and Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.
“When volatile situations happen in North Korea, a large number of people flood in to cities near North Korea such as Dandong. Many of them pose themselves as journalists, businessmen, freelancers, but actually some of them are spies,” the newspaper said.