NK suspends short-wave broadcasts of codes for spies

North Korea recently suspended its short-wave broadcasts of figure codes, which it has used for the past half century to communicate with spies in South Korea. Last year the North halted propaganda broadcasts slandering the South along the cease-fire line.

A government official said that related authorities are now trying to uncover the reason for the sudden suspension of the broadcasts, which occurred in early December last year.

The North had broadcast the numerical codes to its spies at around midnight every night.

The government said the change was part of the North¡¯s appeasement policy toward the South, an outcome of the conciliatory and cooperative mood between the South and North.

However, the government also suspects that the North might have given up the short-wave broadcasts after developing new and better means of communication.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com