The National Intelligence Service(NIS) is said to have assessed that Kim Yong-chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers' Party, cannot be clearly pinpointed as the one who ordered the attack on a South Korean warship in 2010.

According to lawmaker Kang Seok-ho of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Kim Sang-gyun, second NIS deputy director on handling North Korea intelligence, conveyed the assessment to the parliamentary committee on national intelligence on Friday.

Asked if Seoul had coordinated the official's visit with the North in advance, Kim did not make a notable response. He only said that Kim Yong-chol is Pyongyang's top-ranking figure in terms of inter-Korean relations and is regarded as the ideal candidate to discuss defusing military tensions, as well as making progress in inter-Korean relations and denuclearization.

He added he cannot confirm media reports that NIS Director Suh Hoon had secretly visited the United States in January and coordinated contact between U.S. officials and high-ranking North Korean delegates.