President Roh Praises NIS for Its Reform Efforts

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) is under close examination over appointing National Intelligence Officers (NIO) among private experts on international and domestic issues and North Korea. They will be in charge of issues of national importance and medium- and long-term strategies.

On Monday, NIS director Ko Young-koo reported to President Roh Moo-hyun the agency’s second innovative plan titled, “The NIS Vision for 2005” at a briefing session called “NIS Innovative Measures to Enhance National Competitiveness.”

The NIS plans to appoint three or four NIOs to take charge of domestic and international issues, North Korea, and the economy. They will consult and advise the first, second, and third deputy directors.

In order to efficiently respond to national threats, such as the new brand of terrorism that involves indiscriminate attacks, and cybercrime, the NIS will reorganize the current Terror Response Center into a Comprehensive Intelligence Center for Terrorism that will serve as a special anti-terrorism organization.

“The NIS has strived not to commit injustice and not to exceed its authority,” the president said at the briefing. “I ask you to break from the past and develop into the world’s best intelligence agency through future-oriented and sweeping reform efforts.

He also said that the NIS should become a moderate national agency that makes clear distinctions between dos and don’ts. The president highly praised NIS Vision 2005 and asked the agency to come up with a complementary vision to develop the NIS as a national agency that makes the most of high technology and values democracy.

It was the second visit by the president to the agency since June 20, 2003.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com