Reconnaissance General Bureau

The North Korean agency for clandestine intelligence and special operations since 2009

Overview

The RGB was organized in 2009, consolidating North Korean clandestine military intelligence and special operations under one command. A multinational investigation in 2010 attributed the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan to a torpedo attack linked to the bureau, a finding Pyongyang rejects. The American government has attributed the 2014 Sony Pictures intrusion to it as well. It functions simultaneously as spy agency and special warfare command, one of the most opaque organizations on earth. Its officers have appeared in UN reporting on arms shipments and sanctions evasion.