With the development of information technology prompting almost all sectors of society, such as defense and the economy, to depend on computer networks, there is growing interest and concern in the international community over cyber warfare, which could be seen as a weaponless war. There’s an attention-grabbing report indicating that North Korea could launch a cyber assault on the United States. Quoting analysis by former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, the Washington Post said on August 31 that the U.S. could be the target of a North Korean cyber attack one day. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also pointed out the possibility of a cyber attack against the U.S. during his confirmation hearing in June. Here’s Dr. Bu Hyung-wook at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses to explain.

During his confirmation hearing in June, Panetta said he had repeatedly pointed out that the potential for the next Pearl Harbor could very well be a cyber attack that could bring down power-grid, broadcasting and telecommunications, security, financial and information systems in the U.S. He also said that it was a direct and real national security threat. In fact, the U.S. has frequently said that the level of North Korea’s cyber warfare capabilities is equivalent of that of the Central Intelligence Agency. In a word, the U.S. is becoming increasingly wary of cyber threats from North Korea.

Also, the prosecution in South Korea spotted North Korea as the culprit of a cyber terrorist attack that paralyzed the banking network of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, last April. The prosecution said that North Korea turned a laptop computer connected to the banking system into a “zombie PC,” carefully preparing for the attack for seven months. South Korean investigators said that the No. 110 Research Institute under the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, North Korea’s top intelligence organization, was behind the attack. It is estimated that the bureau has many hackers under its control.

The General Bureau of Reconnaissance of the Korean People’s Army is responsible for North Korea’s espionage operations against the South. North Korea merged a reconnaissance department of the National Defense Commission, the “operations department” in charge of North Korean secret agents’ infiltration to South Korea and “Room 35” dealing with international intelligence under the Workers’ Party into the General Bureau of Reconnaissance in 2009. The bureau is headed by Kim Yong-chol, one of the closest aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It consists of six bureaus. Bureau 1 is in charge of training and infiltration of spies. Bureau 2 manipulates assassinations, bombings and kidnapping, while Bureau 3 develops equipment needed for espionage operations. Bureau 5 collects information about South Korea and other foreign countries. No specific information has yet to be confirmed about Bureau 4.

The National Intelligence Service’s cyber security center also pointed to North Korea’s cyber warfare unit as the perpetrator of the distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack in July 2009 and additional such attacks on the presidential office, the National Intelligence Service and financial institutions in March last year. The prosecution analyzed that the programming methods that were used in the two cyber attacks, such as the method of encoding and malicious commands, are identical to those used in the cyber attack on the Nonghyup bank in April this year. Also in August, hackers and computer specialists from a top university in North Korea were uncovered while hacking South Korean online games to earn foreign money. Many are wondering about the level of North Korea’s cyber warfare capabilities.

The widely known DDoS attack is a rudimentary cyber terror activity. So, it’s not very surprising that North Korea attempted DDoS attacks. But it is stunning that North Korea attacked the Nonghyup banking network, because it means the North used the so-called “Stuxnet,” which is a computer virus jointly developed by Israel and the U.S. with the purpose of thwarting Iran’s nuclear weapons development. It is a malicious code capable of disabling the control systems of the infrastructure of state agencies. If the level of North Korea’s cyber terrorism is that high, South Korean society is quite vulnerable to potential cyber attacks from North Korea.

Some experts speculate that North Korea has set up computer colleges under the military and similar training institutes in a strategic move to nurture cyber warfare personnel. It is estimated that some 1,000 hackers have been selected from talented graduates of Pyongyang Automation University, Kim Chaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Computer Technology. So, why is North Korea concentrating on cyber warfare?

Information technology is highly developed in South Korea, compared to its northern neighbor. But North Korea seems to have noticed that such an information-oriented society like South Korea is susceptible to cyber assaults. Experts think North Korea regards cyber terrorism as a strategic weapon just like weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, biological and chemical arms. That is why North Korea is intensively fostering cyber soldiers as asymmetric forces. For the attacker, a cyber war proves highly effective compared to relevant costs, while the defender must mobilize enormous effort and resources to guard against it. North Korea is apparently taking note of this.

Amid growing concerns over a potential North Korean cyber war against the South, the Defense Ministry in Seoul as well as the National Intelligence Service has rolled up its sleeves to come up with appropriate countermeasures. The military plans to reinforce readiness against terrorism in cyberspace to immediately respond to any provocations from North Korea.

Announcing a defense reform plan early this year, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said the military would expand personnel and functions of the cyber headquarters and operate a center for cultivating cyber specialists in an effort to bolster defense capabilities in cyber warfare. Accordingly, the cyber headquarters was elevated to an independent military unit and the size of its personnel doubled for more aggressive cyber wars. The cyber headquarters has established a cooperative system with relevant organizations to share information with one another.

Despite these efforts, experts say Seoul’s countermeasures are still inadequate to cope with North Korea’s cyber attack skills, which are becoming smarter and more sophisticated day after day. According to the Korea Internet Security Agency, only 3 percent of Internet networks managed by the government can detect a DDoS attack. Dr. Bu stresses the need for more thorough counter-plans, such as developing tools for defending against cyber aggressions.

An emergency response team should be operated around the clock. It’s necessary to focus on creating a system to respond to any possible attacks swiftly. Most importantly, security for computer networks must be ensured by all means in order to prevent North Korea from delivering a cyber attack from the beginning. Once the attack is launched, the damage could be out of control, causing second and third attacks on government agencies one after another. So, it’s important to prepare against any cyber threats in advance.

The international community calls cyberspace the fifth battlefield, following the skies, ground, seas and outer space. South Korea should make meticulous preparations so inter-Korean conflict won’t expand into cyberspace.


[Interview] Youth Festival Sheds Light on N. Korean Human Rights
To the feverish shouting of college students, the “Youth Festival for North Korean Human Rights” kicked off on August 20 at the plaza in front of Seoul City Hall. The event was organized by six North Korean human rights student groups, including the Legal Association for North Korean Human Rights and Development or LANK at Handong International Law School, the University Students’ Forum of Korea and the College Students Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea. Here’s In Ji-yeon from Handong International Law School to tell us about the purpose of this event.

We wanted to let the public recognize the fact that the problem of North Korean human rights isn’t just a political issue discussed by only a small number of groups. We hoped to develop this event into a public campaign, and that is why we asked for permission to hold this event at the wide plaza in front of Seoul City Hall. Here, people are encouraged to gather round and speak out about everything to do with North Korean human rights. In this vein, we called this event “Great Gathering.” I’d say those who participated in today’s event are all contributing to improving the human rights situation in North Korea.

The students have prepared for this cultural festival since June in order to stress the importance of the North Korean human rights issue with one voice. They think it is most important to permit letter exchanges between separated family members scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula.

Mail exchanges comprise one of the basic human rights. Banning letter exchanges is an act of violating the Geneva Conventions. South and North Korea should be allowed to share information through letter exchanges, though at the minimum level. And through the shared information, I hope North Korea will approach a steady path toward unification.

The wish for mail exchanges between the two Koreas was well represented in various programs, including singing and lectures. But the most eye-catching event was a letter contest entitled “Letters of August—Freedom and Human Rights for North Korean People.” The contest has the purpose of delivering the participants’ hopes to North Korean people by letters, not by aid goods or political propaganda materials. An award-winning ceremony took place and some winners read aloud their letters.

About 410 people participated in the letter contest, which had three different sections for teenagers, adults and foreigners. The top winner in the adults section expressed frustration and anger about the Kim Jong-il regime in North Korea, while the winner in the teenagers section described her feelings frankly, without using difficult expressions. In the foreigners section, an English teacher from South Africa who currently lives in Pohang cited an example of his home country, expressing hope that the same happy day will come to South and North Korea. Listening to the letters, I felt a thousand emotions went through me.

The festival was attended by a number of North Korea experts, including lawmakers, a writer and reporter named Kim Seong-wook who has conveyed the stark reality of North Korea and concentration camps there, and North Korean defector-turned-poet Jang Jin-seong who delivered a lecture to underline the importance of improving the dire human rights conditions in the North. Also, documentary film “Kimjongilia,” based on the vivid testimonies of 12 North Korean defectors, was screened at an outdoor theater on one side of the plaza. Those various programs greatly appealed to not only South Korean students but also to defector students from North Korea. The North Korean human rights issue isn’t just a political matter but a crucial task the entire public should address. Public interest and efforts should continue in order to help resolve this humanitarian issue.