N. Korean leader reduces public activities for fear over ‘decaptation’ plan

N. Korean leader reduces public activities for fear over ‘decaptation’ plan. June. 16, 2017 07:16. by Kyung-Suk Kang coolup@donga.com.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has beefed up personal security and reduced public activities for fears over the South Korea-U.S. joint plan to “decapitate” North Korean leadership.

According to Lee Cheol-woo, chairman of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee and a member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party of Korea, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s spy agency, had reported to the parliament that Kim Jong Un’s public activities decreased by 32 percent so far this year from a year earlier. “This indicates that he is very much concerned about the decapitation plan,” Lee said. The lawmaker added that Kim is desperately gathering intelligence on the “decapitation” plan by using his spy agency and that he even uses other senior officials’ vehicles to make visits to local areas, rather than using his own car.

The NIS also reported that the North is focusing on developing an intermediate-range missile in an attempt to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. Lee Wan-young, another lawmaker of the Liberty Korea Party, said Pyongyang has launched its new missiles including the KN-15, the KN-17, the upgraded Scud and KN-01, indicating that an ICBM launch in the future.

The NIS reported that a North Korean drone recently found in Inje, Gangwon Province took 551 photos of the THAAD anti-missile system being deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province and South Korean units in Gangwon Province. Lee added that Pyongyang had rejected Seoul’s offer of civilian exchanges as part of its efforts to “tame” the South Korean government or waging a war of nerves that could possibly last a long time.