국정원 "北, 8월 미사일 시험 발사 가능성…예의주시"
South Korea's spy agency says it's keeping close tabs on any additional missile testing by North Korea this month.
At a parliamentary meeting on Thursday,... Suh Hoon the chief of the National Intelligence Service was quoted by lawmakers as saying that there appears to be a practical need for Pyeongyang to develop its weapons system before resuming denuclearization talks with the U.S.
He added that further launches could also come in protest against Seoul's introduction of F-35 stealth fighter jets and planned joint military drills with Washington.
As for developments regarding Jo Song-gil,... a former North Korean envoy to Italy who disappeared last year,... the spy agency reportedly said that he has left Rome and is under protection "somewhere else."
Jo went missing with his wife in November,... likely to seek asylum.
