The National Intelligence Service(NIS) said on Thursday that South Korea has become an official member of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

The admission makes South Korea the first Asian nation to become an official member.

This latest development comes after the NIS initiated efforts in 2019 seeking South Korea’s inclusion in the organization, which is one of NATO Centres of Excellence.

The NIS said with the membership, it will work to strengthen the nation’s cyber response capabilities to the highest level in the world.

The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence was established in May 2008 in the wake of Russian cyber attacks on Estonia's key organizations in 2007.

It has 27 sponsoring nations which are all NATO members and five contributing participants, including South Korea, which are not NATO members.