North Korea’s top think tank on South Korea is now producing AI propaganda videos and online content, suggesting the Institute of Enemy State Studies has moved beyond research into online information warfare aimed at deepening divisions in South Korean society.
The institute, a ruling party think tank, was formerly called the National Reunification Institute. It took its new name after Kim Jong Un declared that the two Koreas were “two hostile states,” and it first surfaced publicly in November 2024. Daily NK has previously reported that the institute tracks the decline of North Korean human rights groups in South Korea. It also studies how to exploit political divisions and youth apathy toward unification in the South.
North Korean agencies handling South Korea affairs are seeking ways to influence South Korean society indirectly, multiple sources in North Korea told Daily NK on Wednesday. They are turning to overseas organizations and personal networks to do so. Bureau 10, a unit under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs known as the Enemy Guidance Bureau, is leading the effort. It has singled out political conflict, social tensions and religious issues in South Korea as priority targets.
Bureau 10 took over much of the inter-Korean work once handled by the Workers’ Party’s United Front Department. North Korea dismantled that department as it abandoned its long-standing unification policy.
“The basic purpose of the Enemy Guidance Bureau is to move organizations abroad to influence South Korea from inside,” one source said. “Overseas Koreans can travel freely in and out of South Korea, so using them lets the bureau run many projects without stepping forward itself.”
The source said targets range from inflaming internal conflict and exploiting religious issues to illegal activities such as drug trafficking. “Ultimately, the goal is to divide South Korean society and weaken it from within,” the source added.
According to the source, several agencies take part in these operations while keeping separate structures. They include Bureau 10 and liaison units under the Reconnaissance Information General Bureau. That agency is North Korea’s expanded spy service, which combines satellite, cyber, signals and human intelligence under one command. Their core work reaches Kim Jong Un through the Workers’ Party’s General Affairs Department.
“All important matters go up to the Marshal [Kim Jong Un], and he gives the final approval,” the source said. “Party and state agencies, the military, prosecutors, courts and intelligence services each take part or provide support according to their duties.”
The account suggests Pyongyang manages its South Korea operations through a dedicated chain of command separate from routine diplomacy. Daily NK could not independently confirm the full reporting structure the source described. It also could not confirm the authority of Kim Yo Jong, the leader’s sister, who became director of the General Affairs Department in February 2026. Even so, the sources’ accounts indicate these covert operations run under the direct control of North Korea’s top leadership.
Young specialists drive the institute’s AI propaganda
Meanwhile, the Institute of Enemy State Studies has stepped up its own work on several fronts. A second source said the institute employs many young specialists who use AI tools to create videos and online content. They do more than analyze South Korean politics and social issues, since they also turn that analysis into propaganda.
“There are quite a few gifted young people at the institute who know how to handle artificial intelligence,” the second source said. “It no longer just collects and analyzes material from South Korea but actively makes videos and other content with AI. The days of propaganda built on a few articles or photographs are over.”
The source compared the effort to online influence campaigns linked to Russia and China. “It is similar to how Russia and China created many random accounts to spread material and sway public opinion,” the source said. “North Korea is copying those methods to exploit conflicts in South Korean society.”
The account points to an evolution in North Korea’s psychological warfare toward AI tools and social media platforms. Generative AI can sharply cut the time and cost of altering video or audio clips or creating new content. Paired with networks of fake social media accounts, such disinformation could distort public opinion in South Korea more effectively.
In September 2025, Daily NK reported that the institute had hired video editors and sound technicians alongside its researchers. Those staff members turned footage of South Korean protests, strikes and youth unemployment into propaganda materials.
At the time, those materials mainly served ideological education sessions for North Koreans at home. The latest reporting suggests the same technical skills could now be aimed outward at South Korean society itself.
One possibility is a division of labor among North Korea’s agencies dealing with the South. The institute would analyze trends in South Korea and produce AI-generated video and audio content. Other agencies would then use that material or distribute it through their own channels.
The approach fits the broader shift in strategy since Pyongyang labeled Seoul a hostile state. Propaganda aimed at the South once stressed the cause of unification. It now focuses on magnifying internal conflicts and weaknesses in South Korean society.
The key question is whether the institute has become an operational base for psychological warfare and opinion manipulation. Answering it will require close tracking of where AI-generated content comes from and how it spreads online. Analysts will also need to watch related social media accounts and the institute’s ties to other agencies targeting South Korea.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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November 5, 2026 at 06:38AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)