S. Korean spy numbers revealed

A rather awkward yet serious situation has arisen with the public disclosure of 366 South Korea espionage agents by the ruling Millennium Party Representative Kim Seong-Ho.

The ruling party and the government have found it difficult to either confirm or deny the disclosure. Admission of the existence of South Korean espionage agents would be a violation of the armistice and go against the government's policy toward North Korea based on the call for a permanent peace treaty.

On the other hand, denying it would bring a storm of criticism for the irresponsibility of the government in the light of the recent repatriation of the North Korean espionage agents. Of the 63 non-repentant North Korean long-term prisoners repatriated last month, 46 had been espionage agents dispatched by North Korea.

The agency responsible for the training and dispatch of the anti-espionage agents is the army intelligence department known as HID. According to the disclosure by Rep. Kim, of the 366 agents trained during the first three years of the existence of the HID, 232 had continued to carry out anti-espionage duties even after the 1953 armistice. An agent dispatched in the second year of the training program known as Kim was activated Feb. 15, 1953, and worked for 1,311 days until Sept. 18, 1956, before being retired (missing).

Most of the anti-espionage agents were war orphans recruited in the slum area of the inner cities, and 76.7% (281) came from North Korea during the war. Of those born in the North, 70.4%, or 198 agents, were from the Hwanghae region.

The average age of the agents was 25, with 40.4% in their 20s, 19.4% in their 30s, 3.2% in their 40s, and 27.3% still in their teens. Of those dispatched during the second year, an agent named Lee was 14 years old, while Kim was 52.

Their missions included the bombing of core facilities, silent promotion of social unrest, and information-gathering.

According to Rep. Kim, prior to the 1972 July 4 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration, 7,736 espionage agents went missing, were killed, captured or had not returned to South Korea.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com