South Korea says North Korea has 6,000 cyber attack specialists

South Korea says North Korea has 6,000 cyber attack specialists
(Image credit: iStock)

On Tuesday, the South Korean Defense Ministry released a report stating that North Korea has a 6,000-member cyber army with one purpose: To "paralyze the South psychologically and materially."

Earlier estimates placed the number of specialists at 3,000, The Associated Press says. The report states that several cyber attacks have been conducted against South Korea's military operations and main government systems, but didn't elaborate on how the attacks were discovered.

The report also says that North Korea could have the ability to strike the U.S. mainland due to advances in missile technology, and is working to make smaller nuclear warheads to put on long-range missiles.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.