North Korea is preparing for a new round of weapons tests, South Korean spy agency says
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is preparing for a new round of provocative weapons displays such as long-range missile tests and a spy satellite launch, as it ramps up illicit activities to support its fragile economy, South Korea’s intelligence service told lawmakers Thursday.
North Korea’s chronic economic hardships and food shortages have worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and U.N. sanctions. But it still has conducted a record number of missile tests since last year amid suspicions that its weapons programs are funded by illegal cyber activities and covert exports of banned items.
The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that North Korea’s economy shrank each year in 2020-2022 and its gross domestic product last year was 12% less than in 2016, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing.
Outside experts believe North Korea’s current food shortages and economic troubles are the worst since leader Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011. But they say there are no signs of an imminent famine or major public unrest that could threaten Kim’s grip on his 26 million people.
The food problem has been aggravated by attempts by the government to restrict market activities, dwindling personal incomes, and pandemic-related curbs that decimated foreign trade, according to North Korea monitoring groups.
The NIS told lawmakers that in the first half of this year, North Korea covertly exported an estimated 1.7 million tons of coal, up more than 300% from a year earlier, and 580 kilograms (1,280 pounds) of gold, up 50%, both in violation of U.N. sanctions, according to Yoo.
It estimated that North Korea has stolen more than $1.5 billion in virtual assets since 2015, Yoo said.
The NIS has a spotty record in reporting developments in North Korea, but is generally more reliable than civilian monitoring groups. Calls to the NIS were unanswered Thursday.
The NIS also said that Kim is expected to resume weapons testing in response to major annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that begin next week and a trilateral U.S.-South Korea-Japan summit at Camp David in the United States this Friday.
