Intel, security chiefs criticized for missing information on Kim’s death...

Anchor: On the day North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reported to have died, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was visiting Japan with no knowledge about the death of Kim. The National Assembly has since grilled the nation's defense and intelligence authorities over how they missed such crucial information. Our Kim Soyon has more.

Report: South Korea’s National Intelligence Service learned of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death only after North Korean state-run media made the official announcement on Monday.

Following the National Assembly Intelligence Committee meeting on Tuesday, committee lawmakers cited National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-hoon as saying that only a few close aides to the North Korean leader were aware of his death.

The intelligence chief was also cited as saying at the closed session that he believes other neighboring countries, including China, were in a similar position. Won said, theoretically, China learned about the death after the North’s official announcement as well. He added there were signs indicating Beijing could have detected the situation prior to the announcement, but the NIS has yet to confirm it. He also said Japan and Russia didn’t know about the situation until the North’s announcement.

A lawmaker said if the NIS had had human intelligence in the North, it could have found out about Kim’s death in advance. He charged that the NIS couldn’t utilize human intelligence assets due to aggravated inter-Korean ties. But Won denied the charges.

During an Assembly Defense Committee meeting, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin was also grilled on the issue. The defense chief acknowledged that he only learned of Kim’s death after watching the news. He promised to beef up defense intelligence capabilities while saying that it is extremely difficult to attain that kind of intelligence under the North’s isolated system.

At a National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee meeting on Tuesday, unification and foreign ministers refused to disclose the exact timing they learned of Kim’s death.
Ruling Grand National Party Representative Kim Young-woo said that no matter how closed a country North Korea is it is very problematic that South Korea failed to gain knowledge of Kim’s death in advance.

Main opposition United Democratic Party Representative Shin Nak-yun said despite Pyongyang’s effort to conceal the news, it is shocking that the government was completely in the dark while even private companies were seeking to verify Kim’s death.
(KBS World Radio, 2011-12-20)