Coup?

This is coolbert:

North Korea has often been described by most of the persons who do "analysis" of U.S. intelligence capabilities as a place where normal intelligence gathering is more or less impossible.

["Terra incognito" is the proper term to use.]

This is due to a variety of reason. One of which is that Korea has for centuries always been known as the "hermit kingdom". A nation unto itself, not having a lot of contact with the outside world. Withdrawn and NOT seeking normal relations with other nations.

Espionage as normally understood is more or less out of the question when it comes to North Korea. NOT only with the current atomic test, BUT WILL ALL THINGS NORTH KOREAN.

Case in point is what may have been a revolt by a North Korean Army Corps that occurred in 1995. A revolt that western intelligence did not even know about UNTIL FOUR YEARS LATER!!

[a corps is generally a collection of army divisions, two or three usually. North Korea has twelve corps [??] in the NKPA. [North Korea Peoples Army]]

As reported on one web site:

"In 1995, the officers of the 6th Army Corps -- the unit in charge of the worst famine areas -- hatched a plan to storm Pyongyang in conjunction with the neighboring 7th Corps. The plot was sabotaged by informers, who were then promoted to top positions within the units."

It would seem that this mutiny/revolt/coup d' e'tat was not all it was cracked up to be either:

"the U.S. embassy reported evidence of a revolt by the army's sixth corps in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong in 1995 -- may have been more complicated than it appears at first sight. A veteran foreign analyst in Seoul told me it was more of a 'squabble among thieves,' after the sixth corps refused to turn over to a greedy leadership in Pyongyang the hard currency it had made through illicit activities such as opium smuggling."

Nonetheless, that U.S. intelligence did not find out about this "event" until FOUR YEARS AFTER THE FACT is troubling. This is the type of "thing" you want your intelligence services to know about either before it happens or AS IT IS HAPPENING!!

The ball was dropped here?? In at other times too?? It would seem so!!

coolbert.