The National Security Bureau (NSB) has been keeping a close watch on the North Korean communist regime's welcoming of gang members from Taiwan with open arms over the past year, sources said yesterday.
Intelligence showed that North Korea is attempting to build drug-trafficking links with Taiwanese gang members.
Gangsters who have traveled to North Korea over the past year are being monitored for any suspected illicit activities.
An intelligence source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the unusual links that are developing between Pyongyang and local gangsters have been observed for some time but did not warrant enough attention until recent months.
"Pyongyang actually invited these gangsters for a visit. We believe that the links are being built for the sake of drug trafficking. The watch will continue," the source said, declining to offer any further information.
The gangsters being solicited by North Korea could belong to gangs that are comprised mainly of descendants of troops who fled with Chiang Kai-shek (
The source of the drugs that these gangsters plan to smuggle via North Korea is very likely China, which is one of the major suppliers of drugs in the Asia-Pacific region.
China has been using neighboring countries under its political control to smuggle drugs into other parts of the world, including Taiwan, a defense official said.
"Drugs smuggled into the country are mostly from China," the official said.
The NSB has been exchanging information with quite a few countries about drugs trafficking. It is therefore not alone in the fight against these cross-border criminal activities.
Taiwan, though lacking official ties with North Korea, has been interested in information on this self-isolated country, since the information might lead to a better understanding of China.
One of the findings by the military is that North Korea has developed a very powerful anti-tank missile and that the technology has been proven to be from China.
The anti-tank missile uses millimeter wave as its seeker, operating on two bands at the same time, sources said. Millimeter wave is known for pin-point accuracy and reliability in all kinds of adverse environments, including electronic attacks.
The millimeter-wave seeker uses technology that only a few countries have acquired. Among these countries, the US is the best known.
China is known to have developed a millimeter-wave-guided anti-tank missile, which is believed to have been the model for the missiles owned by North Korea. South Korea's dread of the new weapon could be an indication that China's millimeter-wave development might be quite advanced, sources said.
The development poses a great threat to Taiwan, since the military does not possess any weapon of the same calibre.
The AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter is the kind of weapon that the army wants to acquire to maintain a balance of power with China.
The helicopter's fire-control radar uses millimeter-wave technology. The helicopter is also armed with a millimeter-wave-guided anti-tank missile.
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