No detection of suspected bombing attack near Pyongyang: Spy agency

Flooded fields in Anbyon County in the eastern Gangwon Province after Typhoon Khanun swept through the Korean Peninsula are seen in this Aug. 14 photo captured from footage of North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

South Korea's spy agency said Friday it has not detected the occurrence of a suspected terrorist bombing attack near Pyongyang but is monitoring related situations.

Citing a source familiar with North Korea's situation, the Donga Ilbo, a local newspaper, reported that there were signs of a suspected terrorist attack involving an explosive in the vicinity of the North's capital one or two months earlier.

"The outbreak of a bombing attack has not been identified, but (we) are tracking related situations," the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in response to the report.

In a closed-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee in May, the NIS said the number of violent crimes had tripled in North Korea from a year earlier.

"Large-scale and organized" crimes were also committed, including the throwing of homemade bombs in attempts to extort goods, it added.

With deaths from starvation being reported, North Korea has been suffering from a severe food crisis amid deepening economic hardships and disruptions of the state-controlled food supply system. (Yonhap)