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

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.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up