'A new face of South Korea's NIS'

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a meeting of the heads of the four branches of government at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a meeting of the heads of the four branches of government at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung, currently on a European tour, praised the National Intelligence Service on Wednesday after it joined Thai authorities in raiding drug supply sites in Thailand, saying "a sharp knife can either harm or save people, depending on how it is used."

Lee made the remarks in a post on X, formerly Twitter, calling the operation "a new face of South Korea's NIS."

The NIS said Tuesday that it had conducted a joint raid with Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board on 10 drug precursor warehouses in Bangkok and elsewhere, seizing 49.98 metric tons of chemicals — including acetone, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid — that can be used to manufacture narcotics. It was the first time a South Korean government agency had directly cracked down on an overseas drug supply base.


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