Overview
- The Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that it will disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command and redistribute its duties into new and existing bodies as part of a reform package.
- A new Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters under the ministry will take core tasks such as anti-espionage, defense-industry security, counterterrorism and cybersecurity.
- Clandestine personnel vetting and background-check operations will be abolished and national-security investigative authority will move to the ministry’s existing investigation headquarters.
- A separate Agency for Defense Security Support will handle unit-level security inspections and probes while about one-third of DCC staff are set to return to their original military services with reorganization targeted for late July or early August.
- The move follows public and criminal scrutiny of the DCC after the Dec. 3, 2024 martial law attempt and ongoing prosecutions of former DCC leaders as investigators probe alleged troop deployments and suspected pretext operations including cross-border drone activity.