focused on South Korea, state media reported Friday. The decision came during an enlarged meeting of the ruling party's central military commission. The meeting called for broadly expanding the functions of the General Reconnaissance and Intelligence Bureau, Pyongyang's military intelligence agency responsible for operations involving South Korea. KCNA described the unit as playing "a pivotal role in controlling the potential enemies' threats and gathering key information," and discussed radically enhancing its reconnaissance and intelligence capabilities.

The announcement comes amid ongoing sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear programme and the fact that the two Koreas remain technically at war, as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty. North Korea has repeatedly rejected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's conciliatory overtures, labeling Seoul its "most hostile" enemy and declaring itself an "irreversible" nuclear state.

Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the move reflects Pyongyang's shift toward treating the two Koreas as "two hostile states," potentially replacing the previous armistice-based framework. He noted that military reconnaissance activities take on different diplomatic implications under a state-to-state approach.

Experts suggest North Korea may be seeking military technology, including surveillance satellites, in return for troops sent to aid Russia in Ukraine. In 2023, Pyongyang successfully launched a military spy satellite, claiming it captured imagery of US and South Korean military sites. South Korea's Unification Ministry said it is "closely monitoring" the reported expansion. Since the Korean War ended, North Korea has conducted espionage operations ranging from intelligence-gathering to assassinations, including the 1997 killing of defector Lee Han-young. (Bssnews)