The Intelligence Committee holds its first plenary meeting at the National Assembly on Sept. 1, attended by National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok and others. National Assembly Press Corps 2026.09.01
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has concluded that Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has effectively entered the stage of being designated as his successor, according to a briefing to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee. The agency assessed that North Korean state media’s increasing exposure of Kim Ju-ae is intended to establish her in the minds of North Koreans as the next leader.
Rep. Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party, the ruling party’s secretary on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters after a full committee meeting at the National Assembly on the 1st that the NIS views the frequent media appearances of Kim Ju-ae as a sign that she has effectively been designated as successor. The agency said it believes the purpose is to establish her as a leader in the minds of North Koreans, the lawmaker said.
On the possibility of North Korea-U.S. talks, the NIS reported that such dialogue should be considered possible at any time. Yoon said the NIS briefing indicated that while there was no fact-checking on specific contacts between Pyongyang and Washington, there were signs of dialogue. Regarding the talks among the parties concerned that President Lee Jae-myung proposed in his Aug. 15 Liberation Day address, the NIS was said to have had no separate contact with North Korean authorities.
On the possibility of additional North Korean troop deployments related to the war in Ukraine, the NIS assessed that the likelihood is significantly low while the North is engaged in dialogue with U.S. President Donald Trump, but added that the situation remains fluid depending on how circumstances change.
The briefing also covered a reorganization of North Korea’s intelligence organizations targeting South Korea and overseas operations. Rep. Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party, the opposition’s secretary on the committee, said North Korea has expanded and reorganized its Reconnaissance General Bureau into a “Reconnaissance and Intelligence General Bureau” to strengthen counterintelligence functions. The NIS also said Lee Chang-ho, head of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, is concurrently serving as commander of a special operations command unit to improve the handling of operational intelligence emerging from the war in Ukraine.
According to Yoo, the NIS reported to the committee that it is working to obtain and analyze internal North Korean documents and missile blueprints.
Attempts to leak advanced technology overseas were also addressed as a major issue. Yoo said the NIS detected an attempt to leak blueprints for a new type of nuclear reactor and detected and blocked an attempt to leak technology by photographing the engine of a Surion helicopter.
The NIS is also creating a new post of chief officer for artificial intelligence policy and building a related organization by recruiting talent with a background as a KAIST professor. On the Dec. 3 martial law declaration, the NIS was said to have launched a sweeping internal inspection starting on the 25th of last month.
Regarding a task force on countering North Korean influence operations that was set up within the NIS under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, Yoon Kun-young said concerns had been raised that it risked surveillance of civilians. He said questions were raised at the committee to the effect that the NIS is prepared to take personnel measures against those involved, depending on the results of a special inspection.