South Korean military secrets stolen by North Korea

DNUM_ABZBBZCABH 06:49

The South Korean Ministry of Defense is almost 100% certain that North Korean hackers have obtained many secret military documents, but it is unclear whether the South Korean Navy's "trump card" has been exposed.

North Korea stole blueprints for several South Korean missile ships and submarines in a 2016 cyberattack targeting the world's largest shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

Military secrets revealed

This information was revealed by opposition party lawmaker Kyeong Dae-soo to the newspaper.Dong-A Ilboof Korea on October 30, according to the news siteBloomberg. Of the more than 40,000 documents stolen from Daewoo Shipbuilding in April 2016, 60 were classified as military secrets. These documents contained information on technology, drawings, weapon systems and capability assessments of several South Korean warships and submarines.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Kyeong said he had received a brief report from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense informing him of the leak of military secrets. Daewoo Shipbuilding has been under investigation for six months for cyber security breaches. Earlier in October, a South Korean lawmaker also revealed that North Korean hackers had stolen the joint US-South Korean military plans.

Notably, the stolen documents also included a top secret scenario about a “brain-destroying” operation targeting Mr. Kim Jong-un. According to the newspaperThe TelegraphDuring the recent visit of the USS Michigan submarine to Busan port, it is likely that the US Navy SEALs were given training for this plan.

Bí mật quân sự Hàn Quốc bị Triều Tiên đánh cắp - ảnh 1
A Type 214 submarine of the Republic of Korea Navy was assembled by Daewoo Company but based on a design licensed from Germany. Photo: Republic of Korea Army
Bí mật quân sự Hàn Quốc bị Triều Tiên đánh cắp - ảnh 2
The US submarine USS Michigan docked at Busan port in early October. It is reported that the SEAL commandos on board participated in a rehearsal for an attack plan targeting Kim Jong-un. Photo: AFP

What is the revealed "trump card"?

In the event that South Korea detects that North Korea is preparing to launch a war, its Aegis-equipped warships and submarines will be key elements in its preemptive strike plan.

South Korean Army leaders have drawn up a three-tier missile strike plan aimed at quickly destroying North Korea's ballistic missile facilities, nuclear weapons and long-range artillery capabilities, according to an annual report by the National Assembly's National Defense Committee.The War Zone, the diesel-electric Jangbobo 3 missile submarine model may be included in this plan.

Notably, the Jangbobo 3 submarine model is among the projects that Daewoo Shipbuilding signed with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of South Korea, with the design and assembly agreement signed in December 2012. In September 2014, DAPA once again announced that Daewoo Shipbuilding was capable of implementing this state-of-the-art submarine project.

It is not yet clear whether designs and evaluation information about South Korea's future submarines were among the documents stolen by hackers. The South Korean Defense Ministry investigation team has not yet disclosed the level of sensitivity and importance of the leaked documents.

The Jangbobo 3 submarine is the final generation in a three-generation submarine modernization initiative, dubbed the “Korean Attack Submarine Program,” that began more than a decade ago. The first step of the program was to upgrade nine 1,200-ton Type 209 submarines that Germany sold to South Korea in the 1990s. The second modernization step was to purchase the rights to assemble Germany’s 1,800-ton Type 214 submarines. Four of the nine submarines are now in service.

Jangbobo 3 is the final step in the Korean submarine modernization program. This submarine model was designed by Korea itself, without buying copyright from anyone and using advanced technology that is almost exclusive. The process of building and assembling the Jangbobo submarine was started in May 2017.

North Korea fires back

North Korea has hit back at accusations by British Home Secretary Ben Wallace that Pyongyang was behind the global WannaCry ransomware attack. Nearly a third of Britain's public hospitals were infected with the ransomware in May, the newspaper reported.The Telegraphsaid.

A spokesman for the Korea-Europe Association has rejected the allegations and warned the British government against making “groundless speculations.” The spokesman criticized the British government’s move as a “malicious act” aimed at drawing more international sanctions against North Korea. “This has gone beyond our tolerance and made us more skeptical about the real motive behind the British move,” the North’s state-run news agency reported.KCNAquote statement

___________________________

It is almost 100% certain that North Korean hackers were behind the cyber attack and the theft of sensitive company documents.

KYOONG DAE-SOO,Liberty Korea Party lawmaker,
answer sheetAsahi Shinbum

According to PLO

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South Korean military secrets stolen by North Korea
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