By decree of the President of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam No. 34 April 25, 1946, Article 10: "Intelligence Division is responsible for scouting the enemy situation, the situation of Vietnam's army, and collecting information useful for acts of war".
September 1946, Military Intelligence Division was trained by Japanese ex-soldiers who stayed in Vietnam after World War II.
July 15, 1951, Strategic Intelligence Agency of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under the name of "Communication Department" of Prime Minister was established.
In 1995, the Military Intelligence Agency was upgraded to the General Department of Military Intelligence under the Ministry of Defense
Organisation
The current Director of TC2 is Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Hung. TC2 is an official department of the Ministry of Defense. However, TC2 reports directly to the Communist Party of Vietnam and the President. TC2 is organised into:
Despite its naming as a military intelligence body, its work covers a broad range of interests — by law, it is permitted to "be active in the fields of politics, defence, security, foreign relations, economics, science and technology, industry and the environment, society and culture". It is responsible for both internal and external intelligence. TC2 has been accused by some groups of human rights abuses and political interference.
Case of H122 : a French spy was thought to have entered Vietminh forces, however it was later found that the spying was a fake information given by French
Case of Phạm Ngọc Thảo : Phạm Ngọc Thảo was a communist spy who infiltrated the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and served as a colonel. He was appointed by Ngô Đình Nhu as a director for the Strategic Hamlet Program which aimed to eliminate communist agents in South Vietnam. He deliberately destabilize the Program, causing protests against South Vietnam government and America among villagers. He also deliberately initiated and participated in a coup d'état in 1963 that removed and killed Ngô Đình Diệm - the first president of South Vietnam. Thảo was later suspected and killed by South Vietnamese government in 1965.
Case of A.22 : a team of 42 communist spies who infiltrated as officers in South Vietnamese government and even as an assistant of the President of South Vietnam were discovered by CIA. The team was later sentenced to jail by the government of South Vietnam.
Theft of UH-1 helicopter : Hồ Duy Hùng, a dismissed pilot of Republic of Vietnam Air Force who actually was a communist spy, stole a UH-1 helicopter in Da Lat City and flew to the area controlled by Vietcong in Tay Ninh.
Bombing of Independence Palace : Nguyễn Thành Trung, a pilot of Republic of Vietnam Air Force who actually was a communist spy, flew an F5-E fighter and bombed the Independence Palace on 8/4/1975. After the mission he flew and landed at the area controlled by Vietcong.
Activities of Phạm Xuân Ẩn: Phạm Xuân Ẩn was probably the most notable communist spy of Vietnam War. He worked as a journalist for Time magazine, Reuters and New York Herald Tribune stationed in Saigon during Vietnam War. He had a wide network with many senior officers and commanders of South Vietnamese government and military. He also made friends with many senior American officers and commanders, hence allowing him to access top secret documents of South Vietnam and America. His spying activity was not discovered until the end of Vietnam War.
