Ryu Dong-ryeol, a researcher at the Police Science Institute, said North Korea's clandestine operations against South Korea will become "increasingly combative" as they are led by O and Kim Yong-chol. "He is also very loyal to Kim Jong-il and has gained his trust." Won Sei-hoon, the director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers on April 6 that a North Korean official operating in Beijing said the Cheonan tragedy was the brainchild of the same Kim Yong-chol. rights reserved. Intelligence sources say the Reconnaissance Bureau was created in February 2009 by merging the espionage departments of the Workers' Party, including a unit known as "Room 35," and military reconnaissance operation units. The two spies are said to have had orders from Lt. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the chief of the Reconnaissance Bureau, to "cut Hwang's head off." "Britain's latest move is a flagrant political plot to jump on the bandwagon of the United States' inimical policy," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried on state media KCNA. In October that year, armed North Korean guerrillas clashed with South Korean soldiers in Uljin and Samcheok in the East Sea. North Korea denounced Britain on Saturday for announcing sanctions against two organisations that the British government has said are involved in forced labour, torture and murder in North Korean prison camps. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing threatens resource sustainability and equity. "We must remember that there were many violent incidents back in 1968, when hawkish military officials led espionage operations against the South," said one South Korean intelligence official. On Jan. 21, 1968, a team of North Korean commandos sneaked across the border and attempted to assassinate President Park Chung-hee, and the North attacked the U.S. Navy spy ship Pueblo and imprisoned its crew on Jan. 23. ) There are some similarities in North Korea's political situation in 1968 and 2010. Reuters Earlier, Dominic Raab had unveiled long-awaited UK government sanctions against human rights abusers in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar and North Korea.North Korea denounced Britain on Saturday for announcing sanctions against two organisations that the British government has said are involved in forced labour, torture and murder in North Korean prison camps.The move against the two organisations, named as the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of People's Security Correctional Bureau, is part of the first sanctions under Britain's new global human rights regime. File photo: North Korea leader Kim Jong-un Now as then, the successor to the North Korean leadership is uncertain. North Korea's Reconnaissance Bureau, the new integrated agency in charge of spy operations against the South, has become the focus of attention after speculation that it had a hand in sinking the Navy corvette Cheonan and the arrest of two agents in a plot to assassinate a senior defector. The bureau oversees all espionage operations against South Korea. "He is a consummate strategist," said one high-ranking North Korean defector. The Workers' Party led clandestine operations over the last 60 years, and Room 35 was involved in terror attacks abroad, including the bombing of the KAL passenger jet in 1987 as well as the bizarre kidnapping campaign of the 1970s and 80s. But in the latter half of 2008, when Kim Jong-il had recovered from a severe stroke, the party was reportedly criticized for achieving very little. The melodramatic plot apparently targeted Hwang Jang-yop (87), a former secretary of the North's ruling Workers' Party and chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, who is the highest-ranking defector from the communist country. When he was chief of staff between 1979 and 1988, O spearheaded efforts to modernize the North Korean military. Sanctions on 25 Russians and 20 Saudis were also announced. O is said to have masterminded infiltration techniques using semi-submersible vessels and hang gliders. Lt. Gen. Kim is a hawk in the North Korean military who visited the Kaesong Industrial Complex in November 2008 and threatened South Korean businesses to leave. April 21, 2010 11:55 North Korea's Reconnaissance Bureau, the new integrated agency in charge of spy operations against the South, has become the focus of attention after speculation that it … Photograph:( Kim Jong-il was 26 in 1968, while his third son and heir apparent Jong-un is 27 this year. © 1998-2019 Zee Media Corporation Ltd (An Essel Group Company), All "Earlier, Dominic Raab had unveiled long-awaited UK government sanctions against human rights abusers in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar and North Korea.The measures, announced by the foreign secretary on Monday, include asset freezes and travel bans and represent the first time the UK will alone name and penalise individuals and organisations accused of human rights abusesNorth Korea and the United States have failed to find a compromise over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme or international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.Recent North Korean statements, including one by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, have reiterated Pyongyang's objections to what it sees as hostile and self-serving policies of the United States. He was demoted after clashing with O Jin-woo, a key officer, over reforms but was saved when Kim Jong-il came to his rescue. "We strongly condemn and reject the UK's daring to impose sanctions on the institutions responsible for our country's security as violent interference in domestic affairs. O is said to be deeply involved in efforts to pave the way for a smooth transfer of power from Kim Jong-il to his son. The result was the creation of the Reconnaissance Bureau, putting the military in charge instead. A major challenge with such activity is that most fishing vessels do not broadcast their positions and are “dark” in public monitoring systems.