The North Korean authorities have been cultivating professional hackers and preparing for cyber warfare since the mid-1980s. Why is it that the North Korea regime has been concentrating on cyber terrorism?
The president of the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS), Kim Heung Gwang―a graduate of Kim Chaek University of Technology and former Professor of the Communist College―explained that North Korea is trying to reinforce their cyber terror capabilities because such a strategy offers a way of attacking South Korean society, with lower costs and minimal personnel.
In a telephone interview with The Daily NK, Kim said “For North Korea to maintain a dominant position in terms of military force, it needs significant resources. This, however, is a way for the regime to commit an act of terror at low cost, as all it requires are Internet facilities, hacking technology, and highly trained hackers.”
He added, “Conventional military power is disposable, but cyber warfare can be used to generate confusion in South Korean society by attacking places that South Koreans have a big stake in and stealing national information. The North’s cyber warfare presents a significant threat to a country like South Korea which relies heavily on the internet and where the Internet facility is set up quite neatly.”
He pointed out that, “This also offers an easy way to create conflict within South Korean society between the progressives and conservatives, and disrupts the society with little effort.”
Hong Sung Pyo, Professor of the Korean National Defense University, offered a similar analysis that North Korea wants to compensate for its inferiority in a conventional military sense by reinforcing its capacity for cyber activities.
Professor Hong said, “North Korea has developed an interest in asymmetric warfare since it witnessed the U.S. capture of Saddam Hussein, using precise strike ability based on intelligence.”
He went on to explain that, “North Korea has concentrated on the development of WMD as part of its strategy of asymmetric warfare, but as international pressure has increased, it may have switched its attention to developing its cyber warfare capabilities.” He pointed out that, “with regards cyber warfare, international regulation is comparatively light and a greater degree of secrecy can be guaranteed.”
Lee Chun Keun, Director of the Division of Foreign Affairs and National Security of KERI, suggested that, “Kim Jong Il must also have realized the importance of collecting information and intelligence by following the strategies adopted by the Coalition forces during the Gulf War, which highlighted the effectiveness of conducting warfare based on intelligence.”
