Joint Opposition To Online Threats From North Korea

Uploaded on 2023-12-19 in INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-North Korea, FREE TO VIEW

The USA, Japan and South Korea have established a high-level consultative body designed to counter North Korea’s cyber activities. At the meeting in Tokyo on December 7th the new cyber security working group and the national security advisers agreed on a new project to respond to North Korea’s threats in cyberspace, including crypto currency abuses and space launches.

This comes as North Korea’s has increased its nuclear and missile program saying there is an escalatory nuclear doctrine authorising the use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises. In particular, the allies have “launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by the DPRK, from its cyber crime and crypto-currency money laundering to its reckless space and ballistic missile tests,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.

“This will be a new effort with respect to crypto-currency and money laundering and how we disrupt North Korea’s capacity to gain revenue from the hacking and stealing of crypto-currency and then laundering it through exchanges,” Sullivan said.

The leaders said they had worries about what they described as North Korea’s “malicious” cyber-activities in support of its banned weapons programmes. Crypto currency funds stolen by North Korean hackers has been vital to funding the country’s weapons programmes, according to the United Nations. The meeting coincided with increased concerns about the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile programme and declared nuclear doctrine that authorises the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

US State Dept: NKNews: Al Jazeera: Reuters: APNews: Bloomberg: Infosecurity Magazine:

Image: Steve Barker

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