The National Intelligence Service identified that there have been 11 cases of Chinese nationals illegally photographing core military facilities in the country from June 2024 to recently.
On the 30th, the National Intelligence Service reported this at a closed briefing of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, according to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-gwon and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Byung-ki.
The National Intelligence Service stated to the National Assembly, "Since photographing the aircraft carrier docked at the Busan Naval Operations Command in June last year, there have been 11 incidents of photography, with the targets mainly concentrating on military bases, airports, ports, and key national facilities such as the National Intelligence Service."
The National Intelligence Service also noted, "Most of the photographers are temporary visitors, such as tourists and international students, and some minors, including high school students, are included as well." It continued, "While they claim the purpose of photography is for travel documentation, it is analyzed that there is a significant intent to evade domestic laws, as they use high-performance cameras or walkie-talkies while operating outside the legal boundary of the military base law."
The National Intelligence Service reported, "This is considered a low-intensity intelligence activity aimed at acquiring key military power information, and it is assessed as an influence operation that induces the dispersion and depletion of counterintelligence capabilities, thereby weakening security vigilance."
The National Intelligence Service stated, "We are in the process of preparing a response manual and seeking ways to share know-how among counterintelligence agencies, and we are collecting expert opinions to supplement the deficiencies in laws, such as the military base law." It further reported, "Through amending the espionage law, the need for revisions was emphasized regarding not only North Korea but also other countries that leak national secrets related to our country’s industrial economy or military security or seek to detect and acquire them."