North Korea Raises Security Level Amid Threats to Kim’s Life: Reports

North Korea has raised its security level due to possible assassination attempts on its leader, according to reports.

South Korean Yonhap TV is reporting the county’s Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) saying “North Korea raises security level in preparation for possible assassination of Kim Jong-un.”

According to the report, South Korea’s spy agency informed lawmakers on Tuesday that North Korea has intensified security measures for its leader, Kim Jong-un, amid concerns over a potential assassination attempt.

What Security Does Kim Have?

NIS shared its assessment during a parliamentary audit session, according to statements received by Yonhap TV from Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The report states that NIS informed lawmakers that North Korea has heightened security around Kim Jong-un in response to potential assassination threats.

Measures include deploying communications jamming vehicles and working to introduce drone detection equipment. The agency also noted an increase in Kim’s public appearances, totaling 110 so far this year—a roughly 60 percent rise from the previous year.

What is North Korea Doing in Ukraine?

This latest development is a sign of continued tension between North Korea and South Korea and its Western allies, while Pyongyang is reported to have sent around 10,000 troops to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The reports of Kim’s beefed up security comes on the day North Korean’s foreign minister was visiting Moscow.

North Korea did not specify the purpose of the trip amid Western concerns about thousands of North Korean troops being sent to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, however the state-run Korean Central News Agency said the delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui departed for Russia on Monday.

In a closed-door hearing at South Korea’s Parliament, the country’s spy agency suggested that North Korean official Choe may be engaged in high-level talks about dispatching additional troops to Russia and negotiating what support North Korea would receive from Russia in return, according to lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, who was present at the meeting.

Is North Korea Threatened by the US?

Last week Kim Jong Un warned that he wants North Korea to develop its “strategic deterrence” in the face of what he called the “ever-increasing threat” of America’s nuclear arsenal.

While visiting a strategic missile base, Kim said the U.S. nuclear arsenal poses “ever-increasing threats to the security environment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

He then “stressed the need to further modernize and fortify the strategic missile bases,” the state’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim, his sister Kim Yo Jong and other military officials were reportedly at the base to inspect “important functions and capabilities of launch-related facilities in the missile bases.”

North Korea faces international sanctions due to its ongoing development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. While it has never publicly disclosed the number of nuclear warheads in its possession, the Federation of American Scientists estimated in July that North Korea has sufficient fissile material to construct up to 90 nuclear warheads.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press